ANZAC Day at Gallipoli

This is probably one of the best things I've ever done in my life and I would recommend that every aussie and kiwi come to Gallipoli...if not for ANZAC day then to just see it. You have no idea of what happened here until you see the scale and size of the place. The sun rising over the cliffs during the dawn service was so moving that I think pretty much everyone around was having a tear or two....myself included.

We boarded a bus from Istanbul for the four hour drive down the coast. Interesting drive and we got to the site mid afternoon. The bus drove us around the major battle grounds and memorials, Lone Pine, Chunuck Bair and a few others. The view from the top is amazing and the trenches are still there as if the battle happened only a few years ago. After that we set up camp and walked along the cove. Found Simpson's (the donkey guy) grave and walked out into the bay a bit. Looking back to the coast gave you this overwhelming emotion of what these guys went through.

The night was cold but everyone huddled up and the festive atmosphere made it bearable. The dawn service was quite emotional with the sun rising during the service and the national anthems being played. Apparently 9000 people were there all packed into a very small area. The memorial area is quite small and it's a mission to fit everyone in and I felt sorry for the crowd sitting in the stands in the wind. Down on the grass was definately the place to be!!

Following the dawn service you walk up the hill to the separate Aussie and Kiwi services. The Aussie one is held at Lone Pine which is more or less on top of a hill. The wind was so cold and strong that we were all huddled in the stands in our sleeping bags with as much warm clothing on as possible!!

The New Zealand service is held at Chunuck Bair which is another hours walk up the hill. I didn't make it to that service but apparently it was the best. It wasn't quite as religious as the other services...a bit more military I think.

The sleeping out the night before was an experience. We arrived at Gallipoli around 4 in the arvo and went through all the security checks before walking another couple of kilometers to the memorial site. It was chaos when we arrived there with everyone trying to find spots to sit...of course the group got split up but we were all in the same area. There were kebab vendors and shirt sellers and quite a festive atmosphere. As the night went on the mood became more sombre but not in a bad way and everyone had to keep squashing up. By about 4:30 in the morning we had to stand up as there was no room at all. Not much sleep was had although some people managed to get a few hours in!!

The bus ride back to Istanbul was quiet. I slept more or less the whole way, only waking up for a burger king stop. I can't usually sleep on buses so this was a first for me!! By the time we got back to town everyone was refreshed and keen for a night out and we ended up hitting the sack around 4am.

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