Anzac Cove Gallipoli

Travelled:366km from Istanbul to Anzac Cove Turkey

Stay:Eceabat Boomerang Bar parking N40.1908 E26.3574

As we woke up early we decided we may as well have our coffee and leave before the manic started on the roads. It seemed like the right choice as we drove in relatively little traffic. We kept off the HGS toll roads and took the very good coastal road D100. For the next 2 hours we travelled through the suburbs of Istanbul...non stop appartements and shops.

 We eventually started to see fields and more resort towns before turning at Kesan to head South to the Gallipoli Peninsula.

 We got a glimpse of the Aegean Sea before the road took us along the shores of the Dardanelles Strait. 

This is what the Allies fought to obtain in WWI as it is a vital passage between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. We had a quick pit stop in the port town of Gelibolu and parked in front of the military buildings. 

We needed to sort out our Turkcell sim. The shop assistant kindly downloaded the app and now we won’t worry about the constant messages we get that we don’t understand...we managed to escape our possibly illegal parking and continue to Eceabat. We paused here to have some lunch and then decided to go and explore Anzac Cove. 

This is where Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed during WWI on the 25th April 1915 and fought for 8 months until they retreated.

 There were commonwealth cemeteries throughout the area and most were easily accessible from the road.

 We stopped to pay our respects and in the Beach Cemetery we even managed to find J.Simpson who is well known for saving lives with his donkey.

 Each cemetery has an information board explaining the battles that took place. 

We then went along the Memorial Road which loops around the ridge line battlefields and stopped at the Lone Pine Cemetery which is on a plateau at the top of Victoria Gully. There is also a memorial that commemorates those whose graves are not known. 

There was plenty more to see which we will do tomorrow.