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Published: August 8th 2007
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Gallipoli....Anzac Day
We flew into Istanbul on the 23rd April, only spending one night there we didnt get a chance to get out and explore the city much as we were booked into a tour early the next morning bound for Anzac Cove with busloads of other patriotic Aussies and Kiwis.
Around eight thousand people made their way to Anzac Cove for the Dawn Service, we were'nt sure what to expect but extra Jandarma were brought in to keep everyone in check and keep alcohol off the premises and the night went really well. No sleep was had the night before the Dawn Service, speeches from politicians and countrymen along with real footage from the actual War which were very informative, were played throughout the night .
Sam writes - From an English point of view, staying out on the fields overnight really gave you a good idea as to what it would have been like for the troops that fought here.... Admittedly, they would not have gone to sleep listening to "chicken kebab, tea, nescafe" and the old familiar
"blanky, blanky, well-eee-chee blanky"..... which we figured out did not mean well itchy blanket but it meant very cheap blanket instead....... but it still gave you a good idea how bloody cold they would have been especially when they had just jumped over the side of the boat into the freezing water as well. I thought that the service repeated itself quite a bit but this was because just as you thought they couldn't fit any more people into the site, another bus load would arrive, and a voice would come over the microphone asking you to sit up so they could squeeze in more people. They're gonna have to increase the size of the site for next year. Although the whole thing was moving, I think the Turkish people see it more as an opportunity to make money rather than for mourning their troops. The Kiwi/Aussie to Turkish people ratio staying there tells you that.
It was an overwhelming experience to wander the battlefields and memorials and reflect on the horrendous loss of life that this War produced and it gives you a true appreciation for what the Aussies, Kiwis, Brits and other Allied Troops fought for.
The
human cost of the campaign was enormous, with over half a million casualties including 130,000 dead, the Turks deserve much respect and admiration for allowing us to come onto their soil to pay homage to the fallen.
Kusadasi
We caught a ferry ride across the Dardanelles to Cannakkale Harbour and endured eight more hours of travelling until we reached our final destination of the very touristy Kusadasi. It was nice to finally get some sun and I think we are both pretty thawed out now and have got a pretty good base tan goin. Not staying far from Ladies beach and the Bazaar Markets we spent our time here between the two, only we were both pretty dissapointed at how 'English Abroad' this place really is, struggling to find some Turkish culture amongst the Irish bars and the Turkish restaurants that look authentic from the outside only to walk in, see fish and chips on the menu and James frikkin Blunt playing on the stereo.......very disheartening. Though after a cheap meal of chicken shish we managed to
find a lovely little place that had live traditional Turkish music and large bottles of Efes beer for only 3 Lira........result!! It's a real shame because Sam was here about 6 or 7 years ago, and it was nowhere near as bad as it is now. He couldn't get any English food at all, and now that's all you can get! So our experience here is probably if your searching for the good stuff, stay away from the coastal towns and stick to the big cities for a proper culture shock!!
Ancient City of Ephesus
Another good point of staying in Kusadasi is that we weren't far from the ruins of the Ancient City of Ephesus and The Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. Ephesus was believed to be founded by Greek Royalty around the 1st Century BC. The layout of the place was huge but much of it has been reconstructed and no full statues still exist though we did get to see their remains in the museum down the road. We were pretty surprised though as to where they were letting the tourists walk, not much conservation going on...........oh and in
true American style we saw plenty of Yanks ignore guide ropes in order to get themselves a better pic or look at something!!
What also lays about a km down from the city is the remains of The Temple of Artemis, one of the most disappointing wonders of the world - two lonely columns are all that exist (plus one has a birds nest on top of it) as it was burnt down by a lunatic in 356BC, still its another wonder we got to tick off our list, it is surrounded by small ponds filled with hundreds of turtles, we were trying to catch one but the little feckers are really fast contrary to popular belief!!
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Chucky Cheese!!!
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Can you swing past and pick me up???
Hey my lovelies.. Great to read your blog, will be checking it frequently, very serious wee trip your've had there, hate to say it, but the"english taking over , with restuarants and bars may just get worse, ick! !! I hope you guys are having a blast travelling together, Sal I've very impressed you havent done a runner yet! Well done chick! Great to see both your smiles, enjoy it my friends, and try not to follow the path that you feel already walked by fellow travellers..lucky buggers, greek islands.. mmm Miss you loads, get it done and come home!!!!!!!!!!!! mwah mwah!! xoxo all my love and luck.