ANZAC day as we have come to know the date of April 25, promised to be a little more special in 2015 marking the 100 year anniversary of the start of the battles that took place on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey.
This would be my third pilgrimage to the site on ANZAC day and with the previous two trips being unique in their own ways, so too would this trip.
The main avenue of Canakkale that leads down to the ferry port was closed to traffic and military were a common sight both on the ground and rooftops.
Although I had certainly noticed a big increase in the security detail than on previous visits, this was the first real sign of the extent of the precautions that were being taken.
It was a big 24 hours that started at 5pm with us catching the ferry from Canakkale across the Dardanelles to Eceabat which is only a 20 minute trip.
There we met our bus and were transported to a restaurant to collect our rations (no bully beef). Along the way the Turkish Presidential motorcade stopped all traffic and we moved nowhere for about 45 minutes. Quite frustrating considering we were only 500m from our destination. Another indication of the heightened security measures.
Rations on board we then headed towards the peninsula. It proved to be a hard slog with all the protocols in place for the 100th year. We were forewarned of the screening that would be taking place, however the speed of the process was a great frustration. Checkpoints, ticket scanning, waiting in convoy lines we finally reached the drop off point of Kabatepe at 1am. To put the frustration into perspective, the 8 hours it had taken to get this far was a distance travelled of only approximately 25km.
The time spent on the bus was not aided by the token Kiwis on board. I’m sure receiving paper cuts in the most tender region of your body followed up with a liberal application of methylated spirits would have been less painful than listening to this pair. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt type who did nothing short of whinge about every aspect of anything.
We had however finally arrived at the Peninsula and with another scan of our barcoded tickets, bag search and security check we were at Mimosa Park, the entry point for the 3.5km walk to the ANZAC Commemorative Site.
Next hurdle- they had stopped people walking from Mimosa to the ACS as they had deemed it unsafe earlier in the evening and replaced the walk with shuttles. I have since wondered if some form of threat or warning had been issued as this had not been part of the original logistics plan.
Our arrival was met with the advice that the ACS was full and they would not send another shuttle for 90mins to allow the site to squash in. Never fear, if you can’t go up the tree, go out and around. A bit of sweet talking and we had ourselves a seat on the assisted mobility shuttle and were on our way.
We arrived in at the ACS at 2am and it was certainly jam packed. Only place we could find to set up and bed down was on the concrete pathway, so that is what we did. Not ideal but with about 1500 people still to enter the site, at least we were there. For anyone who may have watched some of the service, our position was directly behind where Kochie was doing his Channel 7 correspondence.
The littlest of our family at 4YO slept well both on the bus and on the concrete so he did really well-here is asleep face down!
The rest of us did the best we could at trying to stay warm and comfortable.
The service went well although the speech of Tony Abbott’s was a bit like the man himself, large traces of irrelevance. This I find interesting as I will agree he did speak very well, it was the content that seemed out of whack, however many reports I have since perused have congratulated him on the speech.
Naval flotilla approaching.
The biggest difference to the past services I have attended were the punters. The attendees this year were overall much older than previous. It should be a sombre and reflective time, however I believe, there should still be some form of celebration of what the ANZAC’s achieved. I may be off the mark here, but you read the diaries and the tales of those that fought on the soil here, there was still time for laughter and larrikinism and I believe we should still embrace that.
The 2015 ceremony was largely devoid of that, whereas in 2003 & 2007 (the services I have been) certainly had a different mood and feeling whilst remaining completely respectful.Whether this was reflective of the age or commensurate with the anniversary marked, I cannot be sure. What I do know, is that ’03 & ’07 had more a sense of celebration of life and achievement whereas 15 was more stoic and symbolic of the hardship and loss.
The service concluded and next came the task of safely emptying the ACS and the trek up to the Lone Pine cemetery and memorial for the Australian service. It’s approx a 2km walk with the last half uphill on a winding gravel track. The increased military presence was again evident with Turkish soldiers positioned at every turn, rise and blind-spot of the ascent. It was clear that they had been posted there during the night and perhaps longer. There were also several sniper’s in varying positions.
On arrival there was another scanning and bag check before we entered the site of some of the heaviest fighting and losses encountered by Australian troops during the campaign.
We took our seats in the temporary grand stand seating and proceeded to wait for the service to start.
A cameo walk through the punters by Prince Chilla and ‘Arry took place so I moved in to see if I could get a customary handshake, maybe even a selfie with the Ginger one.
Managed to achieve neither but must say its the closest I have ever been to Royalty (Doulton or sporting not included). Close enough to hear them, close enough to heckle if so inclined.
Once the service concluded we then had to wait for the Turkish service at the 57th Regiment Memorial (see below) and New Zealand service at Chunuk Bair to finish before they released the bus convoy.
Each bus on entry was assigned a number and ours was 260. Fortunately the release was random and not numerical. There were 5 pick up locations and dependent on where your bus was allocated you went to that stop.
Our luck had been in thus far and now it was a case of hope for the best on where our bus was in line. Luckily we lobbed blackjack, grid position 21. This might seem a bit down the line, however considering there were approx 300 bus’ and our number was 260, that was excellent. Especially when it still took about 30-45 mins from our number appearing to actually boarding the bus, it was a blessing as there may have been more bloodshed on the battlefield 100 years on. Tiredness, hunger and lack of patience was in vogue, it is amazing to think what the brave Diggers accomplished. I have not heard from any fellow travellers but I would be interested to know what time the later buses finally left the Peninsula.
We loaded up and were taken back to the restaurant where we had collected our ration packs earlier and treated to a jimmy buffet dinner. A welcome sight indeed.
Once that was devoured, with the Channel 7 crew accompanied by VC winner Ben Roberts-Smith sitting behind us and enjoying the Efes (Chris Bath was certainly lively) we headed for the ferry to cross the Dardanelles once again.
I cannot recommend Hassle Free travel highly enough should anyone ever make the Gallipoli trek. They were a credit to the tourism industry.
We arrived back at our apartment at approx 7pm. Hot showers all round and it was lights out. Alarm set for midnight to get to the otogar for our 1.15am bus to Bodrum and a week of relaxation in a resort hotel.
dashman01's observations 