Gallipoli

We began the day with a visit to Troy just 20 kms south, famous for the Trojan war and the legend of Helen, not to mention the Brad Pitt movie.  Excavations have revealed that the city was actually rebuilt on the same site 9 times. The first dating back to 3600 BC, the last built between 300BC and 300AD and during the Roman heyday. In turn they were each wiped out by earthquake, fire or war. The sixth or seventh city is thought to be the one described by Homer in the Iliad. There is not a lot to be seen here, excavation continues as with all the sites in Turkey but so slowly, the unearthed statues and treasure were taken to Berlin after the original excavations were completed by an amateur German archaeologist. After the defeat of Germany in WW11 the treasure was  discovered in Russia. The Turks would like it back but it looks unlikely that will happen. The replica wooden horse used in the movie is on show along the Cannakale esplanade where we walked last night.  

Earthenware pots and pipes

The main entrance

Altar of Zeus missing its statue

Trojan horse on the Cannakale Esplanade

Returning to Cannakale we crossed the Dardanelles by ferry and had lunch at the Crowded House Hotel before joining the tour of Gallipoli National Historical Park.  In 1915 the area was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey didn’t come into existence until the 1920s. According to our guide, the Ottomans had contracted and paid for England to build it 2 warships but by the time they were completed, England was at war with Germany and they refused to deliver, using them instead as part of their own Navy fleet and not returning the money.  Naturally this enraged the Ottomans who were neutral to this point, and so sided with Germany.  Who knows how much truth there is in this story, but it’s plausible. Anyway, having arrived at the site we can now understand how important it was for the Allies to gain control of the Dardanelles so as to open supply lines for Russia from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. The whole story from the landing to the eventual withdrawal unfolded as we visited each of the cemeteries, memorials and landmarks. 

Anzac Cove

Australian Memorial

Lone Pine

All that violence and hardship, endured over all those months, was hard to visualize as we walked around the beautiful landscape of the present day comprising peaceful green lawns stretching to narrow beaches, pine forests, sandy cliffs and a vista that expands over the Aegean Sea. But the rows and rows of graves tell another story. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission have done a wonderful job maintaining the sites with dignity and informative signposting. We are very glad we have been here but it is a sobering experience and there is noticeably less banter on the bus on the way home.

Looking toward Suvla Bay