The Simpson Prize trip 2009
The Simpson Prize is a competition for high school students from around Australia, with a winner from every state and territory getting the opportunity to travel to Turkey and attend the services on ANZAC Day at Gallipoli. The students this year are Varun Sundar (ACT), Lauren Tang (NSW), Madeleine Foote (TAS), Johanna Stott-Williams (SA), Megan Proutt (QLD), Nicholas Dyer (WA), Eleanor Lourey (VIC) and Erin Moriarty (NT). The accompanying teachers are Sharon Mann and Peter Sharrett with myself, Andrew Gray, as tour guide and we have the wonderful Turkish guide Ozgur (or Fred) looking after our group.
We have just finished our first two days in Istanbul which has been a great introduction to Turkish history and culture. The amazing Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Basilica Cistern, as well as a very relaxing cruise on the Bosphorus. We also ran the gauntlet of the shop-keepers in the Spice Market and haggled with the best of them. The weather has been brilliant with warm sunny days, though the forecast is for a wet change. We've got to know each other over the last few days and are having a great time together.
Tomorrow we head down to Gallipoli and will have our first visit to the battlefield areas. Each day we'll try and get an entry in with some pics to relate our experiences.
The History Teachers’ Association of Australia (HTAA), together with HTAA State affiliates, conduct this competition for year 9 and 10 students on behalf of the Australian Government. Read more about the Simpson Prize.