Istanbul to Cannakale - Tour of Gallopoli
We had a long day of bus travel ahead of us (3.5 hours from Istanbul to the village across the way from Cannakale, and about 4 hours on the bus touring Gallipoli). Normally I have trouble with long days in the car-sitting still that long is bad for my back. I was pretty tired from bumming around Istanbul in the rain, so I slept for much of the bus ride!
The first part of the day, driving from Istanbul to Cannakale was uneventful. The geography reminds me of the rolling hills around San Jose (mostly brown colored). Finally, we stopped over in a small village, where we were all shovelled into a large mess hall. Apparently, the busride came with a luncheon. We were all hungry, so we sat down to dine.
For lunch, we had a cold salad (artichoke & beets); chicken cooked (bland & salty), and french fries (really oily). It was okay food, nourishing but not very delectable. During lunch, another bus came and grabbed our bags. It would hold onto them until our tour of Gallipoli was over. This created mass confusion, but eventually we figured it out.
Gallipoli was a major battle, and it was the battle in which the leader Attaturk first proved himself. The Anzac’s tried to overtake the Turks, but there was a mix-up and they landed on the wrong beach. Confronted with very steep headwalls, and very little knowledge about the area-Alas, they tried their darndest.
There were something like 40,000 Anzac troups, and only a couple hundred Turks on the Ridgeline above. In a very dramatic moment, Attaturk commanded the troups saying, “I am not asking you to fight, I am commanding you to die!”. It brought tears to our eyes when we heard the story from the tourguide. As an American, it was not something that I knew much about, but I can understand why the Turks are so proud of their republic (and also why they have so honored the brave Anzacs).
The tour ended around 6pm. We took the ferry over the Dardanelles to Cannakale. The Anzac House was one of *the* nicest, most accomadating hotels on the tour. It was a shame we were just there for one night! After we all checked into the hotel, we met in the lobby for dinner. We went cruising around Cannakale, looking for grub. We found a mediocre cafeteria, where food was served on trays. It was okay, affordable but not as tasty as the stuff we had in Istanbul.
Back at the hotel, there was a documentary about the battle at Gallipoli. We watched it, and then went upstairs to bed. A somber day!