Now we have returned to Istanbul I can now load some more photos from day 6, 7, 8 and 9 and enter the stories and photos for days 10, 11 and 12. This includes the most important day of our trip, ANZAC Day.

Before doing these updates I would like to provide one item of interest. In the story for day 7 there was a reference to the recently discovered 10 seconds of footage. Due to internet connections issues while in the Gallipoli area these video files did not load. So now I can provide these. The first is the original footage as detailed on the AWM site and the second is a video I took while on one of our walks. It is from as close to the original location of I could find and shows what the location looks like today.

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My apologies for the slow updates while we are at Gallıpoli. There is very little ın the way of internet connections here. I will do a large update of informatıon and photos as soon as we return to Istanbul. This is the day after ANZAC day.

While the start of day 8 took us to Cape Helles at the far south end of the battlefields, the 9th day starts with a trip to the Suvla Bay area in the far north. We start at Lala Baba which over looks Suvla Bay and the Salt Lake. The Salt Lake now has a dam at one end so that a low level of water could be maintained for fish farming.

Our next stop also shows how areas change over time. The location is the Green Hill cemetery. At the time of the conflict two hills were named Green Hill and Chocolate Hill. Since then the vegetation has changed so that colours have swapped. This is Green Hill now looks dark brown and Chocolate Hill is covered with crops and looks very green. Some more touring and history talks which takes us to lunchtime.

The afternoon has optional walks either along the beach at ANAZC Cove or a longer walk from Chunuk Bair to the coast line at Embarkation Pier. The second of these options is a medium level walk which is predominantly down hill. The only steep section is a side path down to The Farm cemetery that is well worth the trip as it is in a well wooded area that looks back up to Chunuk Bair. The entire walk down takes about 3 hours but is well worth the trip with fantastic 360 degree views.

The first half of day 8 is a tour of the Helles point area. After all the walking of day 7 it is a nice break to have a bus tour day. Although this area was primarily landed and occupied by British and French troops it also has some ANZAC memorial.

The first stop is at a Turkish memorial that was a section of graves for those killed when British ship artillery shelled a hospital installation.

Our next stop is the ANZAC memorial for the Lancashire Landing at W beach. The memorial is higher up from the beach area overlooking the entrance to the Dardanelles and a nearby light house.

A short trip down the road is the very large Helles Memorial where the names of over 21,000 British troops are engraved. Also on this memorial are the names of ANZACs for whom there are no known location of death as well as the names of the ships used in the campaign.

Very close to this memorial is the location named V Beach. This was just one of the locations landed on at Helles on the 25th of April but with its well defended hills and beaches it saw some of the highest losses.

On the headland above V beach are gun emplacements that have now been rebuilt but where once seen as they where after the early failed navy battle. These emplacements came under heavy bombardment and an ammunition bunker was successfully hit doing much damage. Although this damage can no longer be seen there is one of the original large guns on display and it has a noticeable bend.

Next stop is the Turkish Memorial that can so clearly been seen from most locations in the area. Visited by many local tourists this site is one of a couple being used to help build a better knowledge of the conflict and create a larger feeling of pride in the Turkish people.

In stark contrast to the crowds at the Turkish Memorial is the French Cemetery only a couple of minutes away. Very quite and beautiful grounds with head stones unlike any of the others we had seen. As Turkey is an Islamic country it would be offensive to have the outline of a cross visible. The head stones of the other allied forces have the image of the cross embossed into head stones and the larger memorials. The French grave marks are a cross of made from steel fence posts in the form of a cross but the three ends that are out of the ground are feathered out so that the cross now forms a fleur de lis.

We return for lunch and to collect a special tour guide to talk us though a Turkish view of the conflict. Kenan Çelik is a very knowledgeable historian on the Gallipoli conflict with a long association with the Australian War Memorial. He has been a guide for some years now taking many heads of state, official parties and other dignitaries. Kenan has also been awarded the Order of Australia for his work on the Gallipoli campaign. The Simpson Prize students and ourselves are very fortunate that as part of being on this tour that is associated with the Australian War Memorial that Kenan can provide time at this very busy event.

While Kenan talks us through the Turkish actions of the campaign we travel through what would have been behind enemy lines in the campaign. First stop is the town where Ataturk had his headquarters. This was in a classic, small village house in the middle of town. After a visit and some more history lessons we stop for tea and coffee beautifully restored the village.

Next stop not far away is to a newly restored Turkish memorial. Here a new monument and a low wall of headstones surround an old mass grave site that was almost lost to farm land.

For Kenan to complete his talk we travel back up to the Chunuk Bair Cemetery as it gives the best over view of the battlefields for this. Kenan provides a wonderful and very detailed talk that gives a very interesting insight into the Turkish operations the views of the Turkish to the allied forces.

Our first full day on the battlefields begins with a reading from a diary brought by Brian and Sue who are two tour members with a relative at our first stop, ANZAC Cove. This reading gives an additional view to the first day of combat on the 25th of April from a soldier in artillery, not the frequently described first wave solders. It describes in detail a very long and hard day that started with a mid-morning landing and did not finish until the following morning when they had to dig fox holes to sleep in.

Viewing ANZAC Cove up close for the first time is amazing. You can’t help but wonder how so many battled so hard on such a small and hash location. No image or footage can truly show just how steep this ground is. A short walk from the vantage point overlooking the cove is the grave site for ANZAC Cove.

Amongst the many headstones here is one that has become a must stop for many Australians when visiting. It is the headstone of John Simpson Kirkpatrick of the “Simpson and his Donkey” fame. This headstone is the same as all others at any of the memorial sites in the area.

Each headstone has the person’s name, their unit, the date they died and their age. A small cross is in the top left corner next to the name on most headstones. Some have the Star of David to identify those of the Jewish faith and some have no religious marking at all. A lot stones have a personal inscription as each family was allowed to provide a message of up to 66 characters. These can be very poetic and moving.

From here we can see Shrapnel Valley, it is a short trip across to the beautiful memorial site at the bottom. From a distance you can see two large Judas trees that are in full spring bloom. This is a beautiful site and it is hard to images the harsh battle that took place and the numbers that where killed.

The Shrapnel Valley memorial site is also the start of our first walk on the battlefield. A track on the left side of the memorial runs along a ridge line to Plugge’s Plateau. At the top of this track, which is steep at first but then flattens off, is a great view of the Sphinx, Razors edge and Shrapnel Valley it self.

About a third of the way up is the closest location we can find that matches a recently discovered piece of footage of ANZAC Cove that was taken during the conflict. The original can be seen below together with a piece of footage of the length I have taken to show what the area looks like now.

After lunch we travelled to the top of the hills to see Lone Pine. Only a short look here as we will be returning on ANZAC day. But there was time for some people to find the names of relatives and leave tributes.

Next was a walk to the 4th Battalion Parade Ground Memorial. This is about 200m down a steep track and is the starting point for our walk into Shrapnel Valley. This walk gives us a very good idea of just how hard this country must have been to move in, let alone conduct a war on. While the track is good and clear now you can see what a photo has difficultly showing. That is just how steep the ground is and how dense the bush land is.

Before dinner a small group of us do a short walk up and over Bolton’s Hill via Sappers post and out via Shell Green, down what remains of Artillery Road. This is to help John Hamilton and Stephen Midgley as they write histories on different topics on people who operated in this area during the conflict.

And now we head for the highlight destination of the tour, the Gallipoli Battlefield. We depart Canakkale by ferry for our first destination, Kilidbahir. Here we stop to look at the fortress and gun emplacements.
The fortress was closed on our arrival so we visited the gun emplacements that over look the Dardanelles. These old sandstone gun emplacements are currently being restored to a near new condition. The work so far, which looks like it is almost complete, has been done very well. I would have liked to see it up close by night as I could see lights set up all around the bases of the emplacements. From this vantage point we got a wonderful view of the Dardanelles and the Narrows and could clearly see just how impossible any naval battle would be.

We headed back to the fortress which was now open. This fortress, which is right on the waters edge, is composed of an inner tower surrounded by an outer wall. In plan view the outer wall is designed as three interlocking circles like a clover and the inner tower has three curved walls designed for deflecting canon fire. A very steep, narrow stair case leads up the inside of the inside of the walls to a great view of the surrounding village and the Dardanelles.

Back to the bus for a short journey to our long awaited first view of the main reason for this tour – the Gallipoli Battlefields. The first good views are from the Kabatepe Museum. A small museum with a collection made up mainly of items found over the years on the surrounding fields. There are also some uniforms from both sides with the Australian uniform originating from the Australian War Memorial.

Before we check into our home for the next 7 nights, the Kum Hotel (kum in Turkish means sand), we travel along the ridge to get a quick over view of the fields. It is amazing to see all the famous land marks for the first time.

After checking in and having some lunch the battlefield tours begin with a trip to the Nek. A truly moving site as it is in this very small location that 316 ANZACs lay, killed in the waves of attacks depicted in Peter Weir’s movie, ‘Gallipoli’. One of our tour group members and Gallipoli historical writer, John Hamilton made a dedication to Lt Colonel Alexander White (killed leading his regiment of Victorian of the 8th Light Horse up the charge of the Nek on August 7th 1915) here for a family in Australia who has a family member at this site. The Australian wild flowers came from his 2 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. This will be one of many such dedications to be made by John and others in the group over the next few days.

Quinn’s Post is near by for our next stop. What amazes us all, now that we are out of the bus and view these sites directly, is just who small each area is, how steep the ground is and how thick the vegetation. We can only admire how the ANZACs could get through this landscape, let alone conduct a battle.

Some more travel around the fields in the bus before returning to the Kum Hotel for dinner, a few drinks and a much needed sleep after a long and rewarding day.

Just a quick note to let people know that the Simpson Prize students have arrived in Istanbul and will soon be travelling the the Kum Hotel (near ANZAC Cove).

The fifth day of our tour sees another perfect clear spring day. We start the day’s touring with a visit to the ruins of ancient Troy. About 40 minutes from Canakkale the site of the ruins is an ongoing archaeological dig, although no works are visable to the tourist areas. As well as the viewing this wonderful site which dates back to over 2500BC the location also gives a great view of the start of the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Dardanelles. This section of the Dardanelles, which is just before the Narrows, is the site of the failed Allied navy forces attempt to force past the Turkish defenses on March 18, 1915.

Say hello to the Gallipoli Battlefield Tour Group for 2007. While at the ruin of Troy we made use of the old theatre for a photo of the whole group.

Next stop is at the Dardanos Battery gun emplacements where Ashley describes the naval battle of March 18 and how it lead to the plan to take the peninsula in the Gallipoli Campaign.

This location give a great view of the Dardanelles are you can clearly see just how difficult any attempt to take this location by naval forces would have been.

After a lunch stop at the Tusan Hotel Restaurant, once again over looking the Dardanelles we travel back to Canakkale for a guided tour of the naval museum and Canakkale fortress. Here are many examples of what the Allied naval forces faced in the battle. This is also the location of some of the paintings by George Lambert which are currently on display in the George Lambert exhibition at the Australian War Memorial (see the George Lambert blog by Janda who is also on the Battle Field Tour).

Some more images from day 5

Canakkale

Ruins of Troy

Dardanos Battery

Canakkale fortress and naval museum

Çanakkale is a port town on the western side of the Dardanelles at the Narrows.

View Larger Map

Wikipedia: Çanakkale

Please note that while there are satellite images for the ANZAC Cove area they are of a low resolution.

We depart Istanbul at 7:30am for the coach trip to Canakkale. Including a couple of comfort stops and a lunch stop at the Maydoz Restaurant in Eceabat, this is a 6 hour journey.

While there is not a lot to see along the way our tour guides Serap and Ashley keep us informed of any items of interest we pass along the way. Ashley also had some information about the Australian Navy submarine ‘AE-2’ which was part of the Gallipoli campaign (Links: Australian War Memorial, ANZAC Site, Wikipedia).

The highlight of the day is seeing the Dardanelles. This being the first of the Gallipoli campaign land marks of the trip. After lunch at Eceabat we cross the Dardanelles to Canakkale at the Narrows. This gives the best view of just how narrow this strip of water is.

 

Also visible from the ferry (and from just about every else around Canakkale) is the Dur Yolcu memorial. This memorial is situated on the eastern slopes of the Kilitbahir Plateau on the Gallipoli Peninsula and directly faces Canakkale. It was constructed by the Turkish military authorizes. It reads;

 

Dur Yolcu!
Bilmeden gelip bastign bu toprak
Bir devrin battigi yerdir
(Necmettin Halil Onan)

Stop passerby!
The ground you tread on, unawares, once witnessed the end of a generation.
Listen, in this quiet earth beats the heart of a nation.

Also clearly visible from the ferry and the town is a large red sign which simply reads “18 MART 1915”. This is to commemorate the 18th of March, 1915 which is the day the British naval offensive was removed from the Dardanelles.

 

 

The rest of the afternoon was left free for us to explore Canakkale. Amongst the classic water front town restaurants, shops and fishing boats is the original wooden horse used in the 2004 movie ‘Troy’. A funny typo on the information board at the base of this reads that the film stared ‘Brat Pitt’.

Additional Photos from day 4