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Published: April 17th 2015
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Wednesday 15 April 2015
Countdown is complete! But before we left for the airport, the delightful Michael Felgate, Rick and Maggie from the Channel 7 news team visited Mum. What ensued was a special time of honouring her and her strong connection to the Gallipoli campaign.
Once at the airport the indomitable Mabel wasn’t too pleased with her daughter for organizing a wheelchair…until the distance covered from check in to gate lounge changed her mind! Oh, that was a good idea! Wheelchairs were provided all the way with a certain passenger giving the royal wave to the delight of fellow travellers!
The flights from Melbourne to Singapore then Singapore to Istanbul were smooth and the stewards were most attentive. We saw lights of villages as we flew over India and the snow capped Zagros Mountains. The star-studded sky was like a carpet of diamonds. Mum travelled exceptionally well and some sleep was managed. Highly recommended is the investment in Bose noise reduction headphones for long flights; I actually had some quality sleep!
Thursday 16 April 2015
The funniest moments were at Istanbul-Ataturk Airport. Waiting
on the plane until all passengers were off gave those requiring wheelchairs time to chat. Let’s just say OH&S isn’t quite to the standard of Australia but the young Turkish men pushing and lifting the chairs were attentive, happy and very welcoming. We thought pushing the chairs off the plane onto a raised platform was a major feat. There was getting onto the waiting bus (passengers still in the wheelchairs), driving for what one gentleman said was like 20 km, then getting the wheelchaired passengers off! Mum wanted a video taken of the antics but unfortunately that wasn’t possible.
Mat McLachlan’s Battlefield Tour Turkish representative was waiting for us and other members of the tour group who arrived earlier than the tour start date. What an adventure! Bahaha (that seems to be how he pronounced his name!) was hilarious and made us all feel extremely welcome and wanting more. He pointed out various sights of Istanbul along the way to the various hotels. We have never experienced such traffic (not even the Monash Freeway!) and our coach driver deserves much credit for negotiating narrow streets and turns.
The flower gardens along the roadside are
stunning. Due to cool spring weather, the tulips are flourishing. The gardeners take great pride in their work and the results are spectacular. There is much contrast in building styles, states of ruin, disrepair and renovation.
We clapped when we arrived at our hotel… four hours after landing at the airport! Mat McLachlan and his team were there to greet us. The Turkish staff is incredibly helpful and looked after all the luggage. The Hilton Bosphorus is 60 years old and was the first Hilton Hotel built outside the United States. Although huge, it’s very well maintained. The entire tour group will be meeting here on Saturday evening for dinner. Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours has an office in the foyer for the duration of the tour. When we registered, one of the team, Karen, greeted me enthusiastically. We have been speaking with each other and emailing to plan this trip for about 2 and a half years. She was so excited to meet both of us. Mat saw what was happening and came over to Mum and said, “You’re our famous passenger!” and wanted a photo with her. He personally escorted us to our room and made
sure it was suitable. We are delighted!
We have met many people with “Gallipoli connection’ stories to share; even before we got on the first plane! Mum is the eldest any of them have met thus far. It truly is a pilgrimage.
We treated ourselves to room service for lunch and dinner today. Lunch was served on our balcony. A good sleep tonight and a quiet day enjoying the hotel’s environs tomorrow is planned. There’s much more we could share about the past 36 hours but sleep is beckoning.
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Jenni Cummings
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Thank you so much for sharing!
Jan, this is lovely. I see a scrapbook coming on to beat all scrapbooks. What an amazing memento for family! xx