Çanakkale —> Istanbul

We started our morning with a ferry ride across the strait and officially back into continental Europe on route to our visit to the peninsula of Gallipoli. The ferry trip took about 30 minutes - we went on our van and could walk the boat for a bit around before jumping back on the van.

Our first stop was ANZAC cove and was one of the most moving moments of our entire lives, as was the entirety of our visit to this area filled with such a devastating history. There is no need to go into the facts and figures about the war as this is engrained in most Australians and New Zealanders, but the feeling as we strolled around the cove and the nearby beach cemetery was very overwhelming. It was especially sad reading the tombstones with the ages of some of the young soldiers (on both sides of the conflict) in the war.

One thing we did learn that we hadn’t really appreciated was the significance of th3e war for the Ottoman Empire/Turks and mutual respect that they had for the ANZACs. The Ottomans won the Gallipoli battles and defended their country, although they overall lost WWI. The fighting spirit and efforts at Gallipoli gave them the confidence to commence their own independence wars to become what everyone knows today as the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923. There was also a very apparent strong understanding from the Turks that the ANZACs did not want to fight and were only doing so under direction by the British government. This is symbolised in a beautiful monument from former war leader and founder of modern Turkey, Atatürk, where he recognises the grieving mothers of the young ANZAC soldiers who lost their lives in Gallopoli and commits to keeping them safe (see the letter engraved in stone in our photo). There is a real recognition of this also in statues which depict each side carrying each other's wounded soldiers during truces which were called during the fighting.

We continued our exploration of the peninsula, visiting the lone pine cemetery, one small New Zealand cemetery (which overlooked the whole peninsula) and then finishing at a Turkish cemetery. Along the way, we observed the trenches that the ANZACs would have fought in as well the near impossible terrain they were expected to cover to advance the front line. One thing that we also didn't appreciate until this battle was how close the trenches were from each other - at some points they were only 8 metres apart so there was no chance of survival from grenades sent across front lines.

There was definitely a very sombre mood on the bus after the visit as we made our way back to Istanbul.

We arrived back in Istanbul around 5pm and then a group of us went to visit the Basilica Cistern, a 1500 year old underground water storage ‘tank’. Although Istanbul is surrounded by water, there was poor drainage and so an underground cistern supported by 336 columns was built to provide clean drinking water for the people. We understand that 7000 slaves contributed to the building of the cistern. It is indeed very impressive! It was very cool wandering through the cistern, which is now used for concerts and art displays and is beautifully lit up on its columns.

We then had one quick stop in our favourite Turkish delight shop from our first day in Istanbul and went out for one last group dinner. The rooftop restaurant was very nice with a lovely view over Istanbul, flute players and fairy lights. We had a delicious stew, salad and kebab shared amongst some of us before we went out with Tommy, Amy, Babs and Marissa for one last drink in a nearby bar.

We then headed back to the hotel for one last round of cards on the rooftop before heading back to our room to repack our bags ready for our flight tomorrow!Read more