We caught a local mini bus to Canakale 90 kmns north; the fare was 18TL which included juice and a cake. Thanks to Lonely Planet we had great accommodation at the Yellow Rose Pension; to get us ready for the Gallipoli experience they showed an excellent ABC video called the Fatal Shore which was followed by the movie Gallipoli so we didn’t get to bed till midnight. W enjoyed an early morning stroll along the promenade and were impressed by the huge wooden sculpture of the Trojan horse which they actually used in the film Troy.
Our tour of Gallipoli was made even more memorable by having lhami Gezici locally known as TJ. He started his tour company 20 years ago and is recognized us the expert. He has been given Australian citizenship in honour of the work and research he has done on Gallipoli.
We were amazed to see that Anzac cove was a tiny beach approx 15 metres wide and 500 metres long; imagine thousands of Anzacs here with no where to go except back into the sea or up steep cliffs of crumbly mud sand and prickly shrubs.
Ataturk’s words “To us there is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets…. You, the mothers who sent your sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears, your sons are now lying in our bosoms…. After losing their lives in this land they are our sons as well” are inscribed on a monument at the end of the cove.
Lone Pine, the Nek and Chunuk Bar were all grim reminders of the great toll and futility of the campaign where the Anzacs and the Turks were just canon fodder for the Generals of their respective armies.
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