Day 4
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