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Published: January 21st 2006
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Making headway with the blogs - slowly, but surely
As mentioned in the Istanbul blog, we decided to take a 2 day tour of western Turkey that included The Gallipoli penninsula (site of a massive battle between ANZAC and Turkish forces in WWI) and the historical site of Troy (inhabited and rebuilt over centuries by many different powers, from Greek to Roman, etc.....).
The night before leaving on our trip it began to snow in Turkey - the first snow we've encountered since Queenstwon, NZ. We didn't realize how wintry the terrain would become after leaving Istanbul for the Wetern edge of the country.
So, early in the morning we jumped in a minivan packed with sightseers on our trip. Not long afterwards we encountered quite a bit of snow on the ground. Halfway through the drive we stopped at a rest stop for refreshments - namely, Turkish coffee. There must have been a foot of snow on the ground and it couldn't have been more than 20 degrees F outside. Very Brisk indeed.
After meeting our companions on the trip we learned that they were a multi-national group of tourits on an extended voyage that would
take them from Turkey all the way to Egypt - via bus!! There was an annoying Aussie and a Canadian who made the Aussie look like the coolest dude in the world. To be nice, there were some interesting Americans, Aussies and Brits to go along with the troupe.
Moving on, we drove further, out of the snow, and down to the coastline along the Dardanelles to a town named Ecebat. The Dardanelles is a stright on the Sea of Marmara that merges with the Mediterranean in the west. Plenty of cargo ships to see - one passes the straight every nine minutes, every day, every week.......
After a quick, but tasty, lunch at a prearranged location we jumped onto a larger tour bus to go visit the battlegrounds and memorials of the Gallipoli invasion.
Can't forget our tourguide: the soft-spoken Turk who really cared about all of the histroy he was about to share with us. We can't remmember his name, so we'll just call him 'Turkish Stu', because our guides in Aussie and NZ we're named Stu - it just makes sense.
Because the Dardanelles are the entryway to Istanbul and Turkish supply lines,
they were seen as a critical acquistion by the allied forces in ther campaign against the Turks in WWI.
The ANZAC(Aussie and New Zealand) troops were assigned to take a hilltop ridge not far above the coastline on the western shore. This is where the story gets interesting. For 9 months the ANZAC forces battled the Turks here. They both gained ground and gave it back repeatedly. The hilltop ridge is still littered with trenches that were no more than 20 feet apart.
This struggle was to provide an unknown Turkish general the esteem and praise enough to make him the ultimate Turkish ruler. He is credited with the formation of the modern day Turkish state. His name was Mustafa Kamel Ataturk, and to this day no Turk can take the name Ataturk. Not to mention that his likeness is on all currency and there are many, many statues and tributes to him.
Thanks to Ataturk's keen guidance, the Turks managed to overcome the ANZAC, and allied, onslaught. In fact, the day we visited the site, 12/19, marked the 90th annivesary of the ANZAC retreat/pulout.
After seeing all the memorials - to the Aussies, Kiwis, and
Turks - it is quite apparent that the story of Gallipoli is just that of great sacrifice for little if no change. The Turks lost some 120,000 soldiers in the battle and the ANZAC forces suffered 80,000 casualties. Over 500,000 total are said to have lost their lives due to some contact with this conflict.
The memorials are great and the penninsula is beautiful. Sad to say it has such a bloody history.
After returning to Ecebat, we boarded a ferry to take us to Cannakale (pronounced, Che-knock-lay). We stayed the night in this funky college town. We went to sleep after enjoying some delicious 'Kee-BOB'.
The next day, we were up early to visit the legendary historical site of Troy. A lots been said and written about this place, but it was hardly unearthed until the early 20th century - buried and lost for centuries.
Neither of us are archeologists, and the sights consist mostly of unearthed walls and lodgings. There were nine stages of development there, all a little different.
Upon entry to the site we passed a Trojan Horse (obviously a replica) and someone (probably the Canadian) asked if that was the
REAL one? Come on, dude!! It was probably destroyed 2,000 years ago.
Our guide tried to stir our interest in the bricks, but it was no use. The weather stepped in - It was clear and very cold.
We were lead to the spot where Achilles alledgedly slayed Hector outside the gates, in their battle over Helen of Troy. It should be said that this area looks absolutely nothing like the scenery in the movie, 'Troy'.
After a two hour tour we were taken back to Cannakale and left to our own devices. We had pizza and wine for lunch and then played cards for a bit. Holden took a quick walk to see the replica Trojan Horse that was made of fiberglass for the movie 'Troy'. Big deal, right?? Huh, whatever.
Now it came time to minibus it back to Istanbul. Nightime in the Turkish countryside = not much to see.
Well, so much for Turkey. On to Greece, the perpetual cultural enemy of the Turks.
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