Istanbul to Gallipoli - 8 November

We started our three-day trip around the western section of Turkey today. Our group left at 8:30 this morning. We were supposed to have 56 people on the trip with two buses and I am the trip leader and Eileen is the bus leader for the other bus. Only 45 people showed up so they squished us onto one bus which made me really grumpy because we couldn’t spread out. Given that we would be having 5- and 6-hour rides each day, space is crucial to my mental well being, hence the grumpiness. Eileen was sitting next to me on the bus and bore the brunt of my mood until she told me to relax and just enjoy the trip. I listened to my iPod for a while and eventually got over my pique.

Our guide for the trip is Bora. He is an intelligent and articulate guide with no annoying habits and a great sense of humor. What a minute! Can it be true? A tour guide that I like immediately? Are there pigs flying somewhere?!

We drove for about four hours with two breaks – one for a happy place and one for lunch. All of the students were great about being enclosed like sardines together for such a long time. It probably helped that they slept for the majority of the time.

We finally reached Gallipoli and the weather was wonderfully cooperative. It had been raining for the entire morning but as we approached the battlefield, the sun came out. Gallipoli is sacred to the Australians and New Zealanders because it was the impetus behind their quest for independence from Great Britain.

On April 15, 1915 the Australians and New Zealanders landed at Gallipoli to secure a stretch of land that would enable England to transport ships through the Dardenelles. The landing was disastrous and the Turks prevented them from advancing over a key mountain. Each side dug trenches and settled in for a nine month battle. During the nine months, the death toll was staggering.

8,700+ Australians
2,500+ New Zealanders
17,000 French
25,000 British
150,000-200,000 Turks

Today, thousands of Australians and New Zealanders travel to Gallipoli in April every year to honor their soldiers and commemorate the occasion.

The other interesting fact about Gallipoli is that this is where Ataturk became famous as a commanding officer of the Turkish troops. His bravery here later helped him gain support when he became president of Turkey.

The battlefield of Gallipoli is now a very beautiful place with many cemeteries and monuments to all of the troops – Aussies, NZers, and Turks. It was also wicked cold! Only three days ago we were experiencing 98 degree temperatures and now we are bundled up to our eyebrows in a vain effort to stay warm. Most of the students are running around in just sweatshirts because they didn’t pack a jacket for the voyage. They are also still wearing their flip flops but that is by choice and because they are missing a critical mass of their brain cells.

We spent about an hour touring different sites on the battlefield until Bora told us we needed to get back on the bus so that we could catch the 5:00 ferry to Canakkale where we would be staying for the night. We just barely made the ferry and we crossed the Canakkale Straight to get to the city.

At 6:00 we drove up to the hotel and were soon in our rooms. Dinner was in the hotel restaurant and was actually very good. This was a total shock since I had long ago lost faith that hotel food could actually be tasty. After dinner, Eileen and I and another woman took a quick walk around Canakkale for about ½ hour to stretch our cramped legs. It was a pretty little city and we duly admired the Trojan horse that had been gifted to the city by the producers of the movie “Troy” after filming was finished. It was made out of plastic and, as Eileen puts it, “looks really mangy.” I took a picture of it (the next morning which is why the sun is shining) so that you could share in this moment. Just think, Brad Pitt may have touched it : )

After our walk, we went back to our 2 star-quality hotel rooms and settled in for an evening of watching cheesy Turkish television on a TV that was quickly dying. We soon grew bored with it and went to bed.