I travelled by coach from Istanbul to Eceabat on April 22nd, 2002. My travel and excursion arrangements were made through Gavin Pinar, a very informative guide at Gallipoli.

There is not much to see in Eceabat. The main excitement is the hourly departure of the vehicle ferry to Canakale on the opposite Asian shore.

The advantage of staying in Eceabat is that it is on the Gallipoli side of the Bosphorus

On Wednesday April 23rd, I joined the crowds touring the Gallipoli sites.

We first visited the Museum and the plaque outside took most of my attention

Read the Inscription

Gavin gave an excellent commentary despite having to speak to the tourists from 4 coaches

Sites visited included

Shrapnel Gully

Anzac Cove

then down to the beach

and the cemetery behind the beach

We rested with a view of the Sphinx

then up to Lone Pine

Again - so many names

My Uncle Tom, brother of Ernest whose grave I visited near Amiens, fought at Gallipoli before going onto the Western Front. He did return but his life was diminished due to having been gassed.

and a view from there down to Anzac Cove

A view of the trenches

and onto Chunuk Bair and the Ataturk Memorial

and a view over Suvla Bay

before returning to Eceabat and an early night

ANZAC DAY

Gavin arranged for me to be woken at Midnight so that we could be on the bus headed for the Anzac Commemoration Site which we reached at 2.30am. After waiting for 3 bitterly cold hours, the dawn service (15,000 in attendance) commenced at 5.30. The Governor-General, Dr Peter Hollingworth and the Deputy Prime Minister , the Hon. John Anderson were present along with New Zealand and Turkish representatives. Dawn over Anzac

At the conclusion of the service at 6.30 we walked down the line of hundreds of coaches (to join ours and have a little nap as it moved slowly up to pick up its passengers at the site then travel the 5 or so kilometres to Lone Pine reaching there about 9.30am. We then sat in the sun with the band playingfrom 11.00 until the Australian service at Noon.

I then undertook the brisk 3 km walk uphill to Chunuk Bair for the NZ service at 1.45pm

A slow trip in the bus saw us back in Eceabat just before 5pm. I then waited until the 7.30pm bus (5 hours) back to Istanbul and finally into bed a lttle after 1 am, 25 hours out of bed.

I preferred the Lone Pine Australian service to the Dawn service and am glad I made the effort to go to the NZ service which was much smaller and more informal with Maori singing and finishing with a Haka.

A final day in Istanbul and then I flew to Frankfurt and Bangkok for an overnight rest and then onto Sydney.