Gallipoli and Troy

Yesterday was spent at Gallipoli - a very beautiful and picturesque spot, in stark contrast to the tragic loss of young lives that occurred there. We were amazed at how small Anzac Cove actually is - a mere 300 metres across. The memorials and gravestones were very moving to read, and we learned so much more history from our wonderful guide Murat. He really made the Gallipoli story come to life. The museum contained some very sad letters from soldiers to their families, there were skulls and femurs with bullets still intact, as well as displays of uniforms, weapons etc from the Aussies, Turks, Brits, French and the other nations that were there. We saw the gravestone of John Simpson and many others with familiar names like Clayton, Watts, Kelly, Cooling and Anderson - some were as young as 14, having lied about their age to enlist. Such a tragic loss of life - for what? Although we Aussies invaded Turkey, Turks hold no animosity towards us. They think of us as brothers and mourn the tragic loss of lives on both sides. They lost so many more men than we did, in fact an entire university of teenage boys was sent to Gallipoli and not one survived. That university did not have a graduating ceremony for four years after the war.

Mustafa was our guide for the ruins of Troy (he is also known as the King of Troy). As an historian and author of books on Troy, and Gallipoli, there was nothing he did not know on the subject of Troy. He led us through the ancient ruins, those built by the original Trojans, as well as the Greeks and the Romans. It is just mind-blowing to be touching walls made of stones that were cut by man about 4,500 BC and assembled into those walls, and marble from the Temple of Athena. There was also an enormous wooden horse replica that you could climb inside, although there is no firm historical evidence that the the wooden Trojan horse ever existed.

Between these two adventures we took the ferry across the Dardanelles to Cannakale, a vibrant town. Our hotel room overlooked the Dardanelles and we could look directly across from Asia (where we were) to Europe. We dined with fellow Aussies at one of the hundred cafes along the foreshore. It was all a great experience, for sure.