Canakkale

📌 A bus trip to Canakkale, the closest city to Gallipoli started with a little difficulty getting to the main town from the bus terminal due to scammer taxis and being unsure how to buy local bus tickets.

📌 We arrived at the small coastal town which has quite a charming waterfront. We found a small stall serving fresh fish sandwiches and tucked in.

📌 A walk along the waterfront meant visiting the Trojan horse replica from the movie Troy, as Cannakale is quite close to the ancient ruins of Troy.

📌 The full day we had in Canakkale involved visiting Gallipoli on a tour. The tour started and we knew we were in for a treat as there was an old boomer from Brisbane (a former barrister) on the tour who loved telling everyone about himself. The tour involved visiting Anzac Cove, the front lines and Lone pine. It was quite fascinating to hear the easy mistakes made that cost many Aus/NZ lives, such as landing at the wrong place or the Brits having a day off instead of supporting NZ once they'd taken the objective. It was also interesting to hear the significance of the win for Turkiye and how it led to the rise of Ataturk and therefore the Turkish revolution and independence.

📌 We finished Canakkale with a small hidden woodfired pizza dinner and then a very authentic dessert shop with the friendliest staff. We didn't know what we ordered but found out later it was Halva (a cheese based sweet cake). A nice change from the Baklava.Läs mer