Monday 13 September
A long day on the road today along the west coast, and the Agean Sea, through Izmir which was hit by a terrible earthqauke a few years back. We arrived at the gates to Troy but we had heard that there really isnt much to see and also we were ruined out, so only two guys went in while the rest of us sat on the top of the truck chatting and having a laugh. At 5pm we arrived at Cannakkale, which is a lovely little town and the locals all turned to look at us as our truck went by. We got on the ferry for the short trip across the Dardenelles to Ecebat. This crossing officially took us from Asia to Europe, still in Turkey. We set up camp on some dying grass alongside a pub next to the sea.
Tuesday 14 September
The reason for coming to this part of Turkey is to visit the battlefields, cemetaries and museum of Gallipoli. This is where Australian and New Zealand troops (as well as from other countries) suffered great losses in 1915 against the Turks. The guide, TJ, who was born in Turkey but lives also in Australia sometimes, was fantastic. He gave the information from both perspectives and didn't drone on like some guides.
Turkey wanted to be neutral in the First World War, but a number of factors made them get involved. They had ordered two warships from Britain, just for defence purposes. After payment, the British renaged and didn't deliver the ships. So the Germans gave the Turks two ships and sailed them down to the Dardenlles area. Also many of the Turkish Generals had trained in Germany. Also the Germans had convinced the Turks that they would win the war.
The British wanted to pass through the Dardenelles and the Sea of Maramara, take Istanbul at the Bosphorus River and continue on through the Black Sea, opening a supply route to Russia. The British were not very successful in this because of the Turkish/German warships and mines in the sea. So the Allies decided to send troops up the beaches of the Gallipoli penninsula and across to support the sea campaign. The fighting lasted from April 15th to December 19th, before a mass evacuation. 8700 Aussies and 2700 Kiwis died.
We used our truck for the tour, and TJ went on another bus. First stop was the museum where they had some Allied army uniforms, some still splattered with blood. And there were some letters from soldiers back to their parents. Next we drove out to Anzac Cove where some of the troops landed and to the first graveyard. TJ showed us the grave a of medic who had somehow found a donkey and used it to transport the sick. He got Phil to read a Kiwi soldier's account of trying to land on the beach, the soldier fell into the water and when he came up for air all his friends had been shot. It was quiet moving reading the headstones that said things like 'beloved only son of.....'. There is a huge stone sign with a quote from Ataturk, Father of the Turks, in which he speaks of the Allies and the Turks lives and deaths being equally important. Ataturk was a soldier at Gallipoli at the time and he was responsible for their success and went on to become Prime Minister and is still the most revered of all Turks, for saving his country from invasion.
After another graveyard we went to where the Anzac Day memorial takes place each year on April 15.Some years there are 15,000 Aussies and Kiwis gathered here to remember. But it was better to be here with only a few other visitors. We carried on along the road to Lone Pine cemetary. This is where the Turkish and Allied trenches were within a stones throw of each other. TJ told stories of individual troops from both sides helping those on the other side. Finally we visited the Turkish cemetary; the Turks lost at least 87,000 troops. So the day was fairly sombre but I was pleased that I have visited the place that is so important to many Aussies and Kiwis.
We got back to the pub/campsite at lunchtime and headed to the Pide restaurant. I had mince and cheese pide and it was great, better than a kebab or a pizza. At 3pm we began our final truck clean; we have to leave it clean for the next tour. Only 14 of us left but this truck is easier to clean than the previous one. I put up a few unused tents and made sure they were clean and then washed all the cups and cutlery, and got the wood off the roof. We had it all finished in a couple of hours and I sorted my own stuff out too.
In the evening we went out for our last dinner together. We went to the same kebab restaurant as last night but it wasnt so good. Had a final sheesha, a campfire and gave driver Gav his Indian Chief's headress as a thank you. I drank some whiskey and lots of gin until about 1am.
Wednesday 15 September
So today was a little emotional as we took our final drive from Ecebat to Istanbul our final destination, stopping at Burger King on the way! Because we are staying in the narrow streets of Sultanahmet, Gav just parked the truck near the water and we got taxis. This is the backpacker area. The hostel is really good and the staff friendly and they have free wi-fi so have been happily using the the notebook that Mum and Dad bought me. There are seven of us so we got our own dorm which saves worrying about other people. We had dinner on the hostel rooftop; I had an Iskender lamb kebab, with yoghurt. It was good, and quite spicy but no salad, but filled up with bread. This was also to farewell Gav and Summer (driver and guide) who have been fantastic for the whole trip. Went for a beer and sheehsa round the corner then some of the guys went out for more beer at midnight. I came home to bed! We have only been here a few hours but I really like the look and feel of Istanbul
Thursday 16 September
Well, yesterday I was thinking I might get a teaching job here because I do really like it. But when i woke up this morning, I changed my mind. I would only want to stay for a couple of months, so it is a bit pointless really. I want to go to India sooner rather than later. To get a visa for India, you first need a letter of recommendation from your own emabssy. Such a letter costs $40 at the Australian embassy, but I am travelling on my UK passport, so i went in search of the UK emabssy this morning. We walked across the Galata Bridge, where there were lots of guys fishing. Onto the feluculia towards Taksim. I asked a policeman for directions but he didnt speak English, but indicated for me to follow him. We walked for about 10 minutes and arrived at the British Embassy and he got in the police box next to it, so I think he had been heading that way anyway. Into the British Embassy, and guess what? Whereas Aussies have to pay $40, Brits have to pay their embassy $120 for the letter. Thats disgraceful, and I told them so! To be fair to the staff, they acknowledged this and said they had pushed the powersthatbe to get it reduced. Anyway, so I will go back nearer to the time of applying for my Indian visa.
Just got back from another kebab, and saying goodbye to Phil. People are off on their seperate ways now.
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