91st anniversary of Gallipoli

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Geo: 41.0078, 28.9313

We arrived at Gallipoli at 2am. On the bus we got our breakfast boxes- I thought I had seen the end of the buggers. Hard boiled egg, honey, a tomato, boiled potato, cheese and a hot dog roll was all tossed out on the way in.
It was not what I expected at Anzac Cove, I thought that the whole area would be larger. There didn't seem to be that many people. There were grandstands- mostly full and grassy areas- full. We wanted to get into our sleeping bags for a snooze, but there was no space and our tripped out tour leader was useless. We found some seats and tried to get comfy and have a nap- it was hard to do. It was freezing and a bit windy. Just after 5 we were woken up to get ready for the service to begin. It was hard not to doze off during some of the speeches.
After the service we walked up the hill to Lone Pine for the 10.30am Australian service. The MC was entertaining and kept us awake. In the middle of the grandstands there is a pine tree that is 80 years old. The service was short and sweet. We then had to hang around until the Turkish service had finished at 1pm. So we had a nap on the grass for a while and then went to the road to find our bus. It arrived at 3.30pm. Was not happy. I was tired and hungry- which meant I was grumpy. There was an earlier bus that left Gallipoli that we were not told about, but the rest of the large group caught it. While we waited for our bus- they were eating and drinking at a restaurant 30 mins away.
After a very late lunch at 4.30pm I said goodbye to Steve, Rachel and Mike and caught the bus back to Istanbul. Was sad to say goodbye, as they were the ones who I had spent the last month with. The ride was great-only 4 and a half hours with a quick stop. Got dropped off at the backpackers area at 10, walked to my hotel, showered and went to bed.

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Photos

01 Nearly dawn
Everyone rugged up and waiting for the service to start.

02 Dawn service
The sun rose behind us. In front of us is where the Aussies landed.

03 The flags
The flags are down during the service.

04 Cemetery
On the way up to Lone Pine, we pasted this cemetery, which is one of many here.

05 The Lone Pine
The old pine tree at Lone Pine.