Gallipoli

ANZAC Cove, from one of the Australian cemeteries
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This morning we left Istanbul in the early morning, and began our Gallipoli tour. Our tour leader on the bus with us was from Templestowe, and knew girls from CLC.

We drove down to Gallipoli, and met our guide, Captain Ali (Turkish Navy, Retired), a very funny, old (75) Turkish man, with an amzing amount of knowledge in his wrinkled up head.

Them ANZAC boys, they had that ANZAC spirit

Gallipoli was amazing, a beautiful place with such a sad and tragic history. We wandered around the cemetries, headstones of kids who were just 18 and 19 read "He gave his life so that his friends could live"  "He died for his country" and "I died to free you/ Goodnight my beloved/ Meet me on the morn". Very, very moving, we were all touched, and quiet on the bus afterwards...

Ataturks famous words
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Captain Ali gave us lots of information, very un-biased, and really drove home the fact that it was seen as "The Gentlemen's War". Kemel Ataturk, the famous Turkish general and later President (considered to be the father of modern Turkey, and a national hero) wrote to the mothers that had lost their sons in the war:

'Those heroes that 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 the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side Here in this country of ours… You, the mothers who sent your sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.

Anzac cove, where the troops landed. Some of the pebbles are almost transparent when held to the sunlight, and are emant to bring the owner good luck.
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After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well.'

And his words are inscribed on a big monument to all the soldiers, from both sides, who lost their lives.

We visited the Australian memorial at Lone Pine, the New Zealand Memorial at Chunuk Bair (The high ground) and the Turkish memorial. We also got to wander though the original trenches.  At the Turkish site, we were told about the oldest surviving Turkish veteran, who returned to Gallipoli with his great grandaughter to teach her about the war. A statue of the pair has been erected. It's customary to place a sprig of rosemary in the bouquet as a sign of rememberance, something we all did.

Such a peaceful place now, it is hard to imagine what it was like in the middle of the fighting.
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A bit of info about the War, from Captain Ali:

• 8 months of fighting (the most bitter fighting in history, he said) resulted in a total of a one and a half kilometres of land gained.
• Over half a million soldiers died in the battles, from both sides
• In the area of the worst fighting, 2,200 Aussie and New Zealanders and 3,800 Turks lost their lives, in an area the size of just two tennis courts (Lone Pine memorial)
• Lone Pine is the only place where the Turkish army admitted defeat, retreating 39 metres to their secondary trenches.
• The Lone Pine memorial now marks the spot of the furthest Anzac advance, a mere 1.2 kms from the beach.
• At some places, the two opposing trenches were only eight metres apart, the furthest was 20.
• Chunuk Bair, the High Ground, is the highest point on the peninsula, and highly sought after by both armies. The New Zealanders held the area for three days, before being overcome by the Turks.
• Not one soldier lost their life in the ANZAC retreat. Some say this is because the retreat was carried out so well, others say because the Turkish wouldn't shoot a man in the back.