Lest We Forget

Our main reason for coming to Turkey in this trip was to visit Gallipoli for Anzac Day on the 25^th April.

We hopped on a tour bus at 4pm in the afternoon of the 24^th, and drove four hours to the Gallipoli peninsula. And then they handed us a “breakfast box”, pointed us in the right direction, and we started walking towards Anzac Cove.

The dawn service was to be held at North beach, not Anzac Cove itself, as the terrain at North Beach lends itself better to crowds of people camping there. When we arrived at North Beach, this is the sight that welcomed us.

We found ourselves some seats, and settled in for the night. One word sums up what that was like.

COLD.

Here I am wrapped in every single layer we had with us.

They did a very good job of keeping us entertained for the night. The brightly lit people here are an orchestra.

Reminder, it was COLD!

Here I am doing star jumps trying to keep warm.

COLD! COLD COLD COLD!

Here we are a few hours later. Getting colder.

Eventually, when the temperature and the wind reached their worst point (I’m told it was negative two degrees), the sky started getting lighter.

This was me. Enjoying it immensely, obviously. I had two beanies on my head and was holding another one up to cover my face from the wind. That black thing covering me is a plastic lined picnic blanket.

As the sky got a bit lighter, we decided to break into our breakfast boxes. They had an interesting selection. Here I am eating the cold boiled potato.

For the record, this is what I look like after a sleepless night freezing my bottom off, when presented with a potato for breakfast.

The view of the three countries’ flags, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.

Anzac Cove itself in the morning light.

After the dawn service we very gratefully stood up and warmed our cold cold bones with a walk up to the Australian memorial service at Lone Pine.

It was an excellent service. Bagpipers, a choir, a band, even a dedicated Turkish anthem singer.

Here we are in front of Lone Pine and the Australian memorial. Still pretty cold.

The view across the site.

We then headed on a hike up the mountain towards the New Zealand memorial service, stopping at a few of the key cemetary sites along the way. This gives a good view of the terrain that the Anzacs covered to reach the crest of the ridge.

These are a Turkish memorial.

When we finally reached the New Zealand memorial at the highest point, they wouldn’t let us in because there wasn’t enough space, so we sat and not very patiently waited for our tour bus to collect us. And so ended our very long Anzac Day.

We returned the next day after a much needed sleep for a more specific battleground tour, which was fantastic. It really put things in context for us, and gave us both the Australian and the Turkish sides of events.

Here is Anzac Cove again that morning.

And here is our tour guide holding up an old black and white photo of the same cove, showing how busy it was at the time of the Anzacs.

One of these was present at each of the cemeteries.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the leader of the Turkish forces, gave this speech years after the conflict ended.

It reads:

“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 lying in our bosom

And are in peace.

After having lost their lives on this land they have

Become our sons as well.”

Very moving, considering that both sides of the conflict had shocking amounts of casualties.

And here is one of the cemeteries near Anzac Cove.

Certainly not a bad view from your final resting place.

The Turkish have their own memorial as well.

And then up at the New Zealand memorial I found a statue, the relevance of which we couldn’t fathom. So I climbed it.

Here is Tom skipping pebbles on the beach.

All in all, I found it very interesting, and very sobering. Hundreds and hundreds of men lost their lives from both sides, for no real purpose. Let’s hope it never happens again.