Blogs from Gallipoli, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 3

We left Istanbul at 8.00am this morning in the snow! The roads were pretty wet and icy, but we made it out of the city without incident heading for Gallipoli. Once we cleared Istanbul the weather actually improved a bit. We thought that it might be worse on the Gallipoli Peninsula, but the snow stopped and the sky cleared. We even had some sun. We had a comfort break after a couple of hours. I think the minibus appreciated the break the most - it had a complete wash down to clear all the snow sludge from the windscreen and windows. The bus has an electric door and side step mechanism, but the ice had fouled things up a bit and the step was stuck halfway out ... or was it halfway in? After another hour ... read more

Phone rings, hold music...guess that’s the 6.30am wake-up call. Early start for our big bus tour today. We chomped down our breaky (quite average it was too) and took off to beat the early morning rush hour, even though given the traffic issues we’ve seen since arriving in Istanbul, I think rush hour is every waking hour of the day. We headed west out of the city and along the European side-border. After half an hour we realised that our bus really was a mini-bus, the seats are quite cramped and I had to get used to Rach’s little knook position (her legs nicely sprawled out across my lap). The air con was quite nice with the blasting 35 degree heat outside however was stuck on either 2 settings, off or extremely cool. We stopped for ... read more

'Lest We Forget' This morning we crossed the Dardanelles from Çanakkale to Gallipoli. ANZAC Cove was our first stop, the landing site for the NZ forces. They were expecting an easy, leisurely climb up the hills to the high ground, but they missed their site and drifted a mile north, to steep cliffs and nearly impassable terrain, manned by Turkish machine guns. They were slaughtered, of the 1000 that landed over 300 were cut down almost instantly. There is a commemorative site and a graveyard here, the solemnity hangs over the place like a cloud. Mark, Zac and I all shed tears in the graveyard, there is an atmosphere of extreme sadness in this beautiful, serene place. The graves are mostly for boys, 17, 18, 19 years old, cut down before their life could even begin. ... read more

Twenty years ago today, there occurred one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. Whenever I recount my tale, people often comment on the serendipity of that day, but such heartening words are tempered by knowing that the person who made those moments so memorable has long since departed this world. In Turkey there lies a slender peninsula that separates the Aegean Sea from the straits of the Dardenelles. To the Turks, this is known as Gelibolu, but it is more renowned by its Anglicised name of Gallipoli. In 1915, the largest invasion force in history until that time assaulted the peninsula in order to capture the Dardenelles. Included in this invasion force were soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps – the ANZACs. The date of their invasion on 25 April – ... read more

Today started early - we left the Grand Anzac hotel in Canakkale at 7:15 am. I didn't have breakfast first, I just got two pieces of bread and some cheese from the buffet and made a cheese sandwich to take away. Susan was still not feeling well and had no breakfast. We drove to the ferry terminal, and took the 7:30 am ferry across the Dardanelles to Gallipoli. It was an enjoyable trip and very scenic. I bought a Turkish tea on board and had it with my cheese sandwich. Susan stayed in the mini bus during the crossing. I wandered around taking photos and enjoyed the scenery. We landed in Gallipoli and found ourselves back in Europe. We are back in the European section of Turkey now. We drove for a bit, made a WC ... read more