Turkey June 8 - Gallipoli/Troy - by David (aka Dad)

After another movie worthy breakfast on the veranda, we hired a transportation van to take us to the airport where we had a car reserved. It took so long to get the car I would have thought they were using chisel and stone to write it up and carrier pigeon to communicate with the garage. I must say, though, that is not indicative of Turkey generally which I have found to be quite efficient.

After a few minutes trying to find our way through the maze of roads before us, we were finally on our way to destinations outside of Istanbul. Our first goal was the WWI battlefield, Gallipoli. Looking at the map, we decided to take a road that appeared to follow the coast. We drove to and through the first town after reaching the coast and, as we headed out, came to a gravel road and a ticket shack. We asked if this was the road to Gallipoli, and the man there said yes.

So, on we went. The road changed from gravel to dirt, though a well-traveled dirt road. We reassured ourselves because the man at the shack had confirmed this was the road. So, for the next 20-30 kilometers we followed this winding dirt road up and over a mountain, and down the other side till we finally came to another paved road. In reviewing things and the map after figuring out where we were, we realized that we had apparently missed a turn in town, and ended up taking this winding dirt road. However, the man was right, it did takes us to Gallipoli, it was a visually stunning view of the mountainside and ocean and, frankly, a very pleasant drive.

So it was that, about an hour behind time, we arrived at Gallipoli. This campaign was fought by British Commonwealth forces, primarily from England, Australia and New Zealand, to gain control of the Dardenelles, the strait between the Aegean Sea and the Marmara Sea, with the objective of taking Istanbul, knocking Turkey out of the war, and opening a more direct supply line to Russia, one of the allied powers. These forces landed on the opposite side of a peninsula from where ships attempting to enter the Dardanelles were being shelled intending to cross the peninsula and take control of the position from where ships were being shelled.

However, these forces met surprising resistance from the Turkish forces. There was an initial attack in April, 1915, and a subsequent one in August. Forces remained stalemated, fighting trench warfare for nearly eight months, before the allies abandoned the effort and withdrew their forces. By then, a combined 200,000 to 300,000 soldiers had been killed.





The site is now a collection of numerous small cemeteries and memorials, both Allied and Turkish. As you drive through this area, you can occasionally see the remnants of trenches, with the distance between opposing trenches at times being a matter of 20-30 feet. It is a very sobering experience, and a very worthwhile visit.





We left there close to sunset, caught the ferry across the peninsula to Çanakkale (pronounced “chau-nauk-au-lu”) and drove to a small village adjacent to the ruins of Troy, the setting for the ancient classic by Homer, The Iliad. Before leaving Çanakkale we paused to see the replica of the Trojan horse used in the Brad Pitt movie, Troy. It is displayed on the coastal boardwalk. It was a very pleasant evening, and we spent a little time just enjoying the atmosphere, and then had dinner in a small restaurant with picture windows opening onto the boardwalk.





We rolled into Troy about 10 p.m. The hotel was closed, which turned out to be our good fortune. We found a “pension”, or bed and breakfast, nearby owned by an older couple. It was an older home, simply furnished but very clean, and the second floor was all ours. We had three bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom and veranda. Too bad we were too late to enjoy all this, particularly the veranda. In the morning we had breakfast on a garden patio, all for about $70.