Blog category - Battlefield Tours

Day 6

25 April 2007 by John Lafferty. No comments
Battlefield Tours, Canakkale, Gallipoli, Week 1

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.

Sımspon Prıze – 18th & 19th April

25 April 2007 by Simpson Prize. No comments
Battlefield Tours, Simpson Prize

Well here’s a rundown of what we went through during our stay in Istanbul. The plane landed on time – for once – and after acquiring visas and collecting our luggage we boarded our bus and headed for the hotel, driving past the old city walls on the way. They tower over the road, and some houses are built atop of the walls, showing how strong they still are. The Taxim hotel was our next stop. Very nice indeed, Imogen and I were given a suite while the rest of the group were given double rooms. Lunch was also at the hotel with a westernised menu to help us deal with the culture shock. (Try to upload the pic of Digger with the cream cake.) After lunch our group went on a cruise up the Bosphorous, seeing just how old and grand the buildings are. Luckily no one was sea sick, but the cold wind forced many of us below deck. Once we docked a short drive brought us to the stat o our walk along the streets back to the hotel, walking along Istikal Street, which has various shops on all sides, almost like a long open mall. Dinner was back at the hotel. Thursday saw a full day of sight seeing in Istanbul. First sight was the mosque of Suleyman the magnificent, and it certainly lives up to its name. It’s the biggest mosque in Istanbul/the world. (Not sure which.) Hanging on the chandeliers were rotten ostrich eggs. According to popular belief as they rot they release a smell that is undetectable to humans but dives spiders and other creepy crawlies away.

Whether it’s true or not, we did not see and bugs in any of the mosques we visited that day. A quick stop of the Hippodrome saw us become spectators to a re-enactment of the famous chariot races, but rather than horses and a 450*200m track it was class of Turkish school children running around one of the 3 remaining obelisks nine times. They were all very eager to practice their English on us. All the people are very helpful and friendly, many of the shopkeepers knowing enough English to make transactions easy. The Blue Mosque is named appropriately, for the outside at least. Inside reveals a hidden gem, with much of the seemly delicate paintings actually made of tiles. However the dome is the main attraction, even though large scaffolding sits in the middle to support the building, which would collapse if not for the modern addition. Topkapi palace really is fit for royalty. When in full use 4,500 people lived within its walls. The gem was in the treasury, with the ‘Spoon’ diamond housed in the royal treasury. The 8th largest diamond in the world, what makes it unique is it came from India rather than South America. The nickname ‘spoon’ diamond comes from a legend that the man who found it traded it to a jeweller for two wooden spoons.

Madeleine Haywood

More for the group

19 April 2007 by John Lafferty. No comments
Battlefield Tours, Simpson Prize

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).

Day 5

19 April 2007 by John Lafferty. 2 Comments
Battlefield Tours, Gallipoli, Week 1

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

Where is Çanakkale?

18 April 2007 by John Lafferty. 2 Comments
Battlefield Tours, Gallipoli, Week 1

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

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Wikipedia: Çanakkale

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

Day 4

18 April 2007 by John Lafferty. 1 Comment
Battlefield Tours, Gallipoli, Week 1

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

Day 3

17 April 2007 by John Lafferty. No comments
Battlefield Tours, Istanbul, Week 1

Our last full day in Istanbul, until we return from Canakkale and Gallipoli in a bit over a week’s time. First stop is for a tour of Kariye Museum of St Savior in Chora. Many of the museums here were once churches that were later turned into mosques. This is an excellent example. When these buildings were turned into mosques all the frescoes and mosaics where plastered over to meet with the Islamic law that forbids images of people. This did a good job of preserving the images underneath, but a lot of work has been required to remove the plaster.

The Suleymaniye mosque was next. This is a more modern mosque and is beautiful sight. Lunch was in the Darruziyafe restaurant which in the grounds of the mosque. This had one surprise for many on the trip as no alcohol can be served

The afternoon touring was kept short (to allow for packing to the next day’s trip to Canakkale) with a trip to the Egyptian Spice Markets. Amazing colours, sights and smells.

Day 2 Additional Photos

17 April 2007 by John Lafferty. No comments
Battlefield Tours, Istanbul, Week 1

Istanbul by night

Topkapi Palace

The street on the way to the Topkapi Palace

St Sophia

The Blue Mosque

Running the

gauntlet of the street sellers as soon you get off the bus at any tourist location is a common experience. This gentleman was good but some will just not take no for an answer. You quickly learn to just tune them out.

Day 2

17 April 2007 by John Lafferty. No comments
Battlefield Tours, Istanbul, Week 1

Our first full day in Istanbul was mostly on foot which was a nice break after the past few days of travel. We start with a quick bus trip to the Hippodrome, which is an ancient arena. Only some of the markers now exist, as the stone seating (which could seat over 100,000 people) has been removed over time for other buildings. The Hippodrome runs along in front of the Blue Mosque and St Sophia.

At the entrance to the Blue Mosque we remove our shoes to enter as this mosque is in use. The size of the dome and the detail of the mosaics are amazing. The scale is not something that a photo can easily capture. I have used a photo stitching software to try to create an image of the main dome.

Upon exiting the Blue Mosque (we do get to put our shoes back on) the first thing you see St Sophia, a very large structure and only a short walk away. St Sophia has gone though a few changes since the site was first built on in around 500AD. The first two churches built on this location burnt down. The basis of the current building was a church started around 1200AD. Finally used as a mosque St Sophia is now a museum with renovation work underway to restore some of the original mosaics.

After some time wandering the main floor and upper gallery of St Sophia we moved onto the underground cistern across the road. This is a large water store that is no longer in use. It was built using any available stone that could be found so there are many wonderful old carvings and designs to be seen.

A bit of a walk along some narrow streets brings us to the entrance to the Topkapi Palace. Home to many rulers since it was first established the Palace is a maze of building and walls. This was a great place for lunch, at the restaurant in the grounds, and to wander though for the afternoon. Then it was back to the hotel, dinner and rest.

Day 2 – 3:30am

17 April 2007 by John Lafferty. No comments
Battlefield Tours, Istanbul, Week 1

Many cities claim to have the title of “The city that never sleeps” and most the time this is not quite true. But I feel Istanbul can make a claim to this title. This was the scene from the hotel at 3:30am. Basically one large traffic jam, consisting primarily of taxis. Not a lot of noise but an amazing sight.

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