My trip from Selcuk north back to Azmir was by mini bus. Nearly all the mini buses in Turkey seem to be based on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis. This is the chassis that good mate in Canberra chose for his campervan. No one would be surprised that he would choose the best vehicle going around. It would appear that the hundreds of bus operators in Turkey came to the same conclusion.
Great Buses
The trip to by bus was quicker than the train, but not nearly as interesting. After less than an hour I was at the Octgar (Bus Terminal). It was on several levels with big and mini buses shoot all over the place. I boarded a big Mercedes bus to Cannakale. My London host, who has travelled extensively in Turkey, had told me about these buses. They are great. The seats are better than most airline seats with TV screens and entertainment. There are stewards providing drinks and food. A really good service is the provision of alcohol hand washing fluid which is provided after the start of the journey and each stopping point.
Great Town
I had booked into the aptly named ANZAC Hotel in Cannakale. It turned out to be one of those ‘faded glory’ places. I use this expression, not in the pejorative sense, but just reality. Another example is Lennons in Brisbane. They are hotels that used to be ‘the place to stay’, however, they have been overtaken by more modern buildings. Anyway it was a good place to stay. It is located in the Clock Tower Square very near to the water front.
The contrast between Amzir and Cannakale was amazing. The waterfront on Cannakale is full of restaurants and cafés serving beer and wine. Young women promenade late into the night wearing fashionable western styled clothing. It is amazing that two cities that are so close to each other could be so different. I am intrigued to find out why.
Gallipoli Tour
Of course the reason to travel to Cannakale was to visit Gallipoli. I decided to take a tour. I booked the tour at the hotel. Given the tourist season was ending, no tours were operating from Cannakale itself. This meant catching a ferry across to the town of Eceabat where I latched on to a tour that had started in Istanbul.
I was to join the tour over lunch at a hotel near the wharf at Ecebat. Before lunch I had time to walk through a remembrance park which the local authority had built to commemorate the Gallipoli campaign. Check out the Flickr link. The most graphic part of the park is the depiction of the ANZAC and Turkish trenches. They were as close as 8 metres apart.
As you would expect all of the members of the tour were Australians or New Zealanders.
The tour guide was a young Turk who told us that he had studied history at university in Istanbul where he has met a girl from Cannakale. He decided to follow to the town and started his hospitality career as a waiter. He read up on the history of the Gallipoli campaign and got the “occasional gig” (how Aussie is that) as a replacement guide when the full-time guides were ill. He is now full-time.
The guide told us that he would attempt to provide a balanced view the landing and what did or did not happen. Some the issues he discussed included:
- Did the ANZACs land on the wrong beach?
- If they did, was it the fault of the British or the Australian Commanders?
- Was there carnage on the beaches, or this overstated?
- The role of the Turkish commander (and later to be the founder of modern Turkey) Ataturk.
- Was the retreat such a success (in that there was no loss of life) due to ANZAC ‘tactical brilliance’ or a ‘sympathetic enemy’?
I am going to read more about these and other issues.
There is no doubt that visiting the sites of the battle including the ANZAC Cove, ‘The Pek’, Lone Pine etc. puts this very important part of our history in perspective. It is also incredibly moving.
If you have not been there, put it on your ‘bucket list’.
Flickr Link
billrider2013 