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Day 7 Additional Images

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

ANZAC Cove and Beach Cemetery

The remains of a landing boat near Embarkation Peir

Shapnel Valley

Plugge’s Plateau

Lone Pine

4th Battalion Parade Ground

Shell Green

Day 6 Additional Images

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

Morning on the Dardanelles

Fortress

Meet our excellent driver Cengis (the C in Turkish is pronounced as a J)

The first stop at the Gallipoli Battlefields is at a museum and memorial at Kabatepe

A Gallipoli Rose

The memorial of the Nek

Sunset

Day 7

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

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.

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.

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.

View Larger Map

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.