The ANZAC memorial, just around from ANZAC Cove
For Australia, one of the landmark events in the history of the country, if not the founding event, is the landing of the ANZACs (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) at Gallipoli Peninsula, in Turkey. Wikipedia uses the term "birth of a national consciousness" and I cannot think of better words than these.
On the 25th of April, 1915, the ANZAC troops landed at what is now known as ANZAC Cove, commencing one of the most disastrous operations in military history against the very determined and resourceful ground forces of the declining Ottoman empire. Over a period of a little over 8 months, there were almost 100,000 dead and close to 340,000 wounded with absolutely no ground gained, the end result being the withdrawal of the Allied forces.
For the ANZAC troops, with over 10,000 dead and almost 25,000 wounded, it was a defining moment in the history of the nations. This was the first major battle these countries had entered as countries (not part of the British Empire) and, despite the defeat, it defined the image of the ANZAC "digger" as one of a brave, practical and adaptive soldier, who puts his mates above all else - the epitome of the Australian image, yeah?
For the Turks, it was a stunning victory that was the foundation for the new, independent republic of Turkey. Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal (later taking on the name Ataturk) was one of the key commanders during the Cannakale Savaslari (as it is known by the Turks) and became the father of the new nation.
For me, growing up in Australia, attending dawn services and watching my father march on ANZAC Day, Gallipoli was a place I had always wanted to visit. Indeed, for many Australians, it is a pilgrimage that must be done at least once in their lifetimes.
We stayed at Eceabat, the smaller of the two towns that are the launching pads to visit the Gallipoli battlefields. We arrived in the early evening, around 7:00pm, quickly checked into TJ's Hostel and went out for a kebab dinner.
The memorial in Eceabat
The main drag, along the waterfront in Eceabat
A kangaroo planter in the main square in Eceabat - Australian influence throughout the Gallipoli Peninsula is obvious
Later that evening, we returned to the hostel and watched Peter Weir's "Gallipoli", a movie made in 1981 with a very young Mel Gibson, which helped Steph understand what it was all about and what we'd be seeing tomorrow.
Movie Poster of Gallipoli - thanks to Flixster.com
We took off around midday, passing fields of sunflowers, to arrive a half hour later at the Gallipoli battlefields in a minibus with two kiwis and an American girl, starting off at the memorial and visitor's centre.
The fields of sunflowers on the way - Steph's favourite!
The memorial at the visitor's centre - showing the Turkish troops advancing
From there we went to the Beach cemetary, where row upon row of gravestones commemorate the young soldiers that died here. This is where John Simpson was buried; he and his donkey are remembered for courage under fire as they risked their lives every day, carrying wounded from the trenches to the hospital ships on the beach.
Walking amongst the graves at Beach cemetary
The memorial - these are pretty much at each of the Commonwealth memorials at ANZAC Cove - 21 of these memorials dot the Gallipoli Peninsula
The gravestone of John Simpson
Just north of ANZAC Cove lies the main memorial where the dawn service is held every year. On this spot, every 25th of April, the facilities and infrastructure of this relatively sparsely populated piece of Turkey are strained to breaking point as thousands of Aussies and Kiwis camp out and attend the service and other commemorative events held throughout the day.
ANZAC Cove - note the steep sides, which the ANZACs had to scramble up when they landed
Steph at the memorial
Walking the beach at ANZAC Cove
After visiting ANZAC cove, we headed up the hill to Lone Pine and the Nek, site of some of the fiercest fighting of the campaign, and the central focus of the movies "Gallipoli" and "The Charge of the Light Horse Brigade". It was very moving to walk among the graves and note the age of some of the boys that died here - the grave below shows a man who died at 16 years of age. These boys lied about their age to enter the armed forces in order to go to war.
A memorial showing an Ottoman soldier carrying a British officer - despite the ferocity of the fighting, the two groups of soldiers had deep respect for each other
A grave at Lone Pine of a soldier aged just 16
The Lone Pine memorial
We then went further up the hill to the Turkish memorial for the 57th regiment. The 57th is remembered by the Turks as a lasting example of courage as every man in the regiment, under the orders of Ataturk who was also shot during the battle (saved by his pocket watch), sacrificed his life to buy time for Turkish reinforcements to arrive. It was a key battle and the one which prevented the Allied forces from obtaining their "quick victory".
A statue of a soldier from the 57th Regiment
The memorial and graves of the 57th.
Some of the actual (and reconstructed) trenches used during the war
Both Steph and I agreed, it didn't matter whether you were an Australian, New Zealander, British, French, Canadian or a Turk, the battlefields are extremely moving. The sheer numbers of names on all of the memorials and huge loss of life does little to glorify war and mainly reminds us of the waste and loss that war represents. It is so important to remember this in the hope of avoiding similar mistakes in the future.
Some of the actual (and reconstructed) trenches used during the war
We ended our tour at the top of Chunuk Bair, one of the key objectives of the Gallipoli campaign where the entirety of the peninsula and the Dardanelles can be seen all around. It was captured successfully by British and New Zealand troops and was the only success for the Allies during the campaign. However, it was only briefly held for a few days before being recaptured by the Turks.
The memorial to the New Zealand troops at Chunuk Bair
A statue of Ataturk - these can be found in pretty much every town in Turkey
The memorial to the New Zealand troops at Chunuk Bair
A statue of Ataturk - these can be found in pretty much every town in Turkey
We headed back to our hotel in the early evening and I was profoundly grateful to have had the chance to visit this site, which is so important to Australians, and pay my respects to the soldiers that had died here.
The next day we caught the ferry across to Cannakale, then the bus out to where the ancient city of Troy once existed.
The cheesy Trojan horse recreation - as it once may have looked!
In terms of how ruins go (and Steph and I have visited a lot of them in our travels), there isn't a lot here. However, it's great to know that Troy wasn't some fabled city in Homer's imagination, nor is it all about Brad Pitt and Hollywood. It was an actual city (9 cities, in fact) that existed where people lived and died and just so happened that, thanks to Homer and Hollywood, legends were born.
A section of the ruins of Troy
The reconstructed amphitheater
After a quick stop there, we got on an afternoon bus headed for Selcuk, a small town on the South Agean coast and near the site of Ephesus, reputed to be the best preserved Roman ruins on the Mediterranean coast!
