August 2 To Gallipoli

 Neither of us had thought about visiting Gallipoli but something pulled me in that direction so we signed on to a tour and we were both very glad we did.  We had a very early start because the drive would take a few hours with a breakfast stop on the way – a delicious gozlemi.  On the way west we passed swathes of bright sunflowers their faces turned to the sun. It was quite an interesting driving through the countryside. 

The ‘1915 Çanakkale’ Bridge 

The ‘1915 Çanakkale’ Bridge is a road suspension bridge spanning the Dardanelles. The year ‘1915’ in the official name honours an important Ottoman naval victory against the navies of the United Kingdom and France during World War I. It was after that trouncing that the British ordered the ANZACs to land on the west side of the peninsula to their peril.

Bulent, our Turkish guide, was quite inspiring and very knowledgeable; he has been taking groups around this tragic site for almost 30 years. The ‘lone’ pine at Lone Pine he calls his baby as he has watched it grow from a very small tree from seeds collected from the original tree and brought back to Australia after the Gallipoli campaign. The day was packed with so many pieces of history, things I never knew about, but they fitted together like a macabre jigsaw puzzle. At times, in fact much of the time, the front lines of the Turkish and Allied forces were only meters away. At one place where they were dug in, Johnston’s Jolly, during a time when they had reached a stalemate, the soldiers from both sides exchanged food, tobacco etc thrown across no-man’s land.

Ari Burnu Memorial written by Ata

The inscription on this memorial is a quote attributed to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first President of the Republic of Turkey. It reads:

Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

Atatürk, 1934

Reading the head stones made the history so much more personal, so immediate

Beach cemetery at ANZAC Cove

The Sphinx

The Sphinx, a prominent landmark on the Gallipoli Peninsula; named after the Egyptian monument located near Mena Camp, where the Anzac forces trained before they were deployed to fight in the Gallipoli campaign. The Sphinx was named by the ANZACs on landing day. They clawed their way up these steep hills. 

ANZAC Cove

One of the most moving memorials to the fellowship between Turks and ANZACs

Lone Pine cemetery

Mines were placed under the enemy posts earning the Aussies their name 'Diggers'.

The Nek a key location for gaining the high ground 

The areas where the trenches were - much of the area, are protected. It was chilling to imagine the young men surviving in these places throughout a blistering summer. In many places the enemy soldiers were only a few metres away. 

The Turkish memorial and one of the cemeteries

They are still uncovering records and information about the Turkish soldiers who lost their lives here.  Walking among the Turkish people there on that day brought home very clearly the total futility of that exercise, in fact the whole war.

The memorial to NZ soldiers who gained this high point at the Battle of Chunuk Bair

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

The trip back to Istanbul was a bit unnerving because the driver was speeding – and didn’t always have his hands on the wheel! But the scenery was lovely with the setting sun painting the sky in pink mauve watercolours as we drove close to the shores of the Marmara Sea. Then we reached the fringes of Istanbul – it was like driving into a maw edged with discoloured jagged teeth but was soon replaced by flashy city lights and dense traffic - quite a contrast to this amazing excursion. It had been an emotionally draining but very rewarding day.