Travelogue - Highlights: Gallipoli

Gallipoli


Somehow, the word "highlight" only seems half appropriate when talking about Gallipoli. It was definitely one of the most memorable moments of the trip, yes, but my feelings about the whole thing were very mixed. This was actually added to in a way by the guide we had for the day. We were lucky enough to get one of the best, if not -the- best one in the business, by the sounds of it. He'd been lecturing about it for at least 20 years, had read hundreds of books, as well as gathering information from families etc, had escorted dignitaries of the likes of Bob Hawke around, and seemed to have a very broad, objective view which covered all sides of the story. He could have talked the day and then the night away, but he was so obviously passionate about it, and told it all in such an interesting way that he wasn't boring.


We started near the ANZAC landing sites and moved on from there. The tour took the whole afternoon, and we visited a lot of significant areas including a museum which contained a lot of items and photos from the war.


It occurred to me at the time that this view, and others as well, would have seemed stunning if not for the sense you had of what had happened there, which definitely dampened the feeling you'd normally get.

Unsurprisingly enough, the gravesites were the first thing that really started to bring it all home for me.

The Lone Pine memorial.

Turkish soldiers who fell weren't remembered with gravestones, but were simply buried in mass graves. At some point though, the Turkish people started to feel that they should have something to commemorate their soldiers too, seeing as other countries were visiting the site so much. This was a memorial (probably the largest one) dedicated to them.

This quote was very moving for me, and I still have trouble reading it aloud to other people. You'll probably have to click on this one to be able to read it properly. (Mehmet(cik) is the Turkish term for the common soldier, equivalent to Tommies, or Johnnies.)

While we're on the subject of quotes, of all the ones I saw, this was the one that came closest to describing my own feelings, even if it didn't quite:

"Anzac stood, and still stands, for reckless valour in a good cause, for enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship, and endurance that will never own defeat"

--- C.E.W. Bean, Australian official historian

Interestingly enough, the Turkish and ANZAC soldiers seemed to develop a lot of respect for one another, sharing smokes and bully beef during ceasefires, and even helping one another's wounded. There was a photo in the museum of an Australian soldier giving a wounded Turkish soldier a drink, and a giant statue of a Turkish soldier carrying a wounded Australian. 

Another quote read:

"The Turkish soldier will give his life for his country without hesitation. He is a tough and brave soldier but when a cease fire is called he is gentle and humane he will bandage the wound of his enemy and carry him on his back to save his life. Such a soldier hasn‘t been seen before on this earth.”

--- General William Birdwood

The trenches have mostly filled in over time, but they still gave a sense of what it might've looked like back then:

By the end of the day I was feeling somewhat tired, and emotionally and mentally full, with a real sense of the scale and scope of things that had happened there. I'm very glad I went, and that we were lucky enough to get such a good guide for it.