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Published: April 25th 2009
Dinner last night at the restaurant that been reccommnded was a bit dissapointing but I suppose everyone has different opinions on how good something is especially food.They were supposed to be the best koftes in town but bthink they left something out as expected a little bit more taste to them.In our search for the restaurant we were introduced to pay public toilets.We had been to the welcome for the trip we start the next day and had a beer or two to celebrate meeting the other passengers and our guide.Not having been to the loo during the day the beer topped us up nicely and by the time we went looking for dinner we were both really in need.Thankfully there was a public loo in the square near the Blue Mosque and luckily we had a Lira each(approx $1NZ) to pay the attendant.Welcome to the world of user pays in Turkey !!This could be an expensive trip if this continues around Europe and we forget to go before we leave our accommodation !!
We were up before the alarm at 5am to prepare for a walk up the street to the Fez office and from where the bus would depart.
Late afternoon Friday.Crowd and Sphinx
The time was late afternoon the day before ANZAC day.The crowd were on the grass with our grandstand in the backgroundI surprised the night porter when I took the cases down the narrow steps to the reception.He was asleep on a couch but was quickly with it and wished us a safe onward journey.
Whilst our room was small and the bathroom challenging the location and the people running the hotel/pension were great so it was a good start to our accommodation needs for this adventure.
TGhere were crowds at the Fez office with 6 or 7 buses all heading for Gallipoli but then onto other parts afterwards on different tours.
We followed our guide Kat(a German) up the road to the bus with the 30 odd others doing the 4 days ending in Kucadasi.It seemed rather ironic that we had someone whose ancestors were on the other side guiding us to Gallipoli. We had our supplies for Gallipoli but regretted buying bread when a guy came along with fresh bread stacked up on a huge plate he carried balanced on his head.He made a great bit of video as he negotiated the cobbles selling his wares.
We settled in as the bus headed out of the city for the peninsula taking us down to Gallipoli.The city seemed to run on forever although the highway we joined as we left the old city had heavy traffic flowing very smoothly.Not bad for a city of 14million people and it makes one wonder why Auckland with 1 million cannot do as well in making things flow.Along the highway there were people waiting it seemed for rides.Where they were going we are not sure but they werent dressed in suits so guess they werent office workers.Istanbul has a highly efficient light rail and tramway system that moved fast and carried many people quickly to their destinations.We have always said NZ should invest in the same light rail or trams and make transport cheaper to get cars off the road.
Hosing we passed was very much tenement type or apartments in large low rise blocks.Not sure what percentage is owned privately but I think it would be relatively low compared to NZ.
Eventually we hit the rural area and drove on through farmland with few animals in paddocks but plenty of cultivated fields with some stunning coloured(yellow)plant that apparnetly a food or cooking oil was produced from.The large tracts of bright yellow flowerheads that ran up rolling hillsides made quite a spectacle.
After a stop at a supermarket for more supplies we finally arrived in Ecebat,the closet town to ANZAC Cove,and stopped for lunch and to pick up our guide who would tell us all about the various monuments etc as we made our way to the commenaration site where we would spend the night.he was very well up with it all and although his English was a little broken you could make the gist when you sorted out his pronunciation of various words like gullies.
After touring Lone Pine and Canuck Bair to get orientation the bus took us to ANZAC Cove and we joined the queue to have our bag searched and enter the site itself.There is now a strict alcohol ban after trouble last year that got a bit out of control.
The weather was fine overhead and as the wind was coming from the north we were fairly sheltered.
With 8000 odd people expected we had a 50/50 chance of getting space on the grass and as we walked up we could see we had lost out so had to settle for a seat in the front row of one of the stands looking directly onto the area where the dignitaries would be and the speeches etc occur.
The whole process was very orderly and we settled in around 4.30pm for the long night ahead.At this time the sun was shining and we were both in warm weather gear as did people watching and chatting to surrounding people to pass the time.As the sun went down we tucked into the supplies Leigh had made up for us and the things we had topped up with from the supermarket earlier in the day.
The temerture cooled quickly and we put 3 more layers on before breaking out the sleeping bags before it got dark.Not that there wasnt sufficient light to see by as the whole area was well lit and set out like you would expect at a rock concert with screens and sound systems set up so whereever you were you had a good view of what was happening.
Although we had good leg room as we were in the front row of the stand it was clear that sleep was out unless one could somehow lay down on the floor in front of the seats we occupied.Gretchen managed that and nreckoned she got an hour or two slepp but I thought my bulk would be too much to try it out when she had had enough sometime during the night.Despite being fully cocooned in the sleeping bag you could still feel the cold which seemed to intensify when one thought about it.To take ones mind of it there was something on the big screens almost all the time by way of ANZAC documentaries or when they werent on then the band was playing and a singer with tunes from the WW1 era.
It was a L O N G night !! and we watched expectantly once the watch said dawn was near for the ceremony to start.
AQll through the night until 3am people continued to arrive and space had to be found for them.By the start of the dawn service the area was as full as it could be.
The service followed pretty much what we would have back home less the march onto the area by vets.Of course the service was shared by the allies and the Turks who lost thousands in the fight and there were speeches and anthems played to recognise their dead as well as the ANZAC's
It was a moving occasion and it felt rather spooky to be right on the spot where the ANZAC's landed for a battle they could never hope winning 94 years ago.We are so pleased we made the pilgramage to this site we had learned about since primary school days and been part of what is perhaps the most important day in NZ history and when NZ found it own standing in the world.We would say that if any NZer has the chance then taking this occasion in would be a highlight of their lives.
The walk up to Chanuk Bair,the NZ service and the rest of the 25th follows tomorrow.
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Owen & Ruth
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Hi Happy Travellers
We had special thoughts of you both as we attended Dawn Parade at R.S.A last service at Cameron Rd site.Not cold but wet