Leaving Istanbul - seeing Gallipoli

Well, we finished up in Istanbul by revisiting the Spice Bazaar because someone forgot that the Dolmabahce Palace doesn't open on Mondays! This is a real issue when you are traveling because not all sights or tours are operating when you are in a particular place and you are only there for a limited time. Anyway, we were happy to spend a bit more free time just wandering around the city.

Just revisiting the topic of a busy and traffic-congested city, if anyone was going to a wreckers to get a second-hand indicator for their car, I would suggest they look for one that's been retrieved from an Istanbul taxi - it will be in mint condition because it has never been used (the accelerator pedal, on the other hand, will be worn out).

On Tuesday we took one of the said taxis out to the Istanbul Otogar (bus station) to catch a bus to our next destination. This bus terminal is, to say the least, huge. It has 168 ticket offices and gates, its own mosque, metro station, clinic, police station, and of course shops and restaurants. Buses leave at least every 15 minutes 24 hours per day to all over Turkey, the Balkans, Greece, central Europe and the Middle East.

Fortunately we and our taxi driver managed to find the right bus line and we only had to wait 40 minutes before leaving. Taking a long distance bus in Turkey is a singular experience (that two of our children had already informed us about). They are set up just like airplanes: you have allocated seats, TV and games console in front of you, earphones provided, in-trip service (free), and on the one we went on today, free wi-fi. They serve hot drinks and snacks, water on request and lemon-scented cologne to wipe your hands with.

Our destination was a seaside resort called Cannakele which is the main stepping off point for tours of Gallipoli. We stayed at the Anzac Hotel (where else?) where every evening they show the movie Gallipoli in their lounge bar. We ended up watching the last 30 minutes and explaining what it was all about to a couple of Americans who live and work in Istanbul. Cannakele is also very near to Troy and along the picturesque waterfront is the wooden horse that they used in the Brad Pitt movie. It sounds a bit tacky but I thought it didn't look too bad.

The next day we went on a tour of the battlefield at Gallipoli guided by a very knowledgable retired academic. Unfortunately he was a little too knowledgable and was unable to cut the information down to the essentials and include a more human element. This wasn't too bad for us, but the Swiss couple that were with us were overwhelmed and ended up sitting in the bus for the last half of the tour!

It is easy to see how difficult the battle must have been for both sides - those steep cliffs and the rugged, unfriendly terrain are still quite evident today. But at the same time it is a place of beauty, and the well-kept, uniform, and light-colored graves and cemeteries belie the brutality and obscenities that caused them to exist.

The whole area is undergoing preparations for Anzac day and we were glad we were able to see it without the crowds. Thousands of red seats are being put up on many large stands and these make a statement in themselves. One point our guide made was that it was a great achievement that the Aussies got as far as they did and that it was (as we have been told over the years) largely poor British leadership that led to the failure of the campaign.

We certainly felt that it was a worthwhile visit and feel much better informed and connected to the events of that campaign, but it did not have the same deep impact on us as did our visit to Passchendaele and the Western front a few years ago. It may have been our guide, or it may have been the fact that we both had great uncles killed on the Westernn front.

We struck up an acquaintance with another couple of Americans on the Gallipoli tour and ended up having dinner with them in the evening. Their daughter has married a Turk and lives here permanently. As a consequence, this is their eleventh trip to Turkey! Once again, for us the meal was OK but still a bit disappointing as both of our dishes (hotpots) we're drenched in olive oil. We're still searching...

We took another bus today, this time to a place called Bergama. From here we will take a tour tomorrow to see the ruins at Pergamum which include the site of the asklepion, ancient Rome's per-eminent medical centre.