| The Caucasus - My Journal |
Feeling the Futility of War
Gallipoli & Canakkale, 28th July
Due to the sheer size of Turkey, I found that getting to my next destination, Bergama, was more difficult than I anticipated. Bergama is a small town on the coast and only about 400km from Istanbul. The private buses make overnight stops at other towns en-route and the public buses are achingly slow with a dozen different diversion on the way. So, after considering all of my options and checking my finances, I decided to use a tour company to take me down there calling by some famous sights on the way..
 Between Istanbul and Bergama are two very famous attractions, the Gallipoli peninsula and Troy. When planning my trip at home, I'd actually originally intended to visit these sights, but I'd then heard that the geographic layout and sparse nature of the attractions makes them difficult to appreciate without a guide. And as I'm not too fond of using guides (I don't like being herded around in big tourist groups, and I don't like forking out the cash) I'd first decided to skip them out. But while working out how to get to Bergama, I'd come across a tour company called Trooper Tours, who, for a flat fee, give guided tours of Gallipoli, Troy and Pergamon (near Bergama) over 2 days and include transport, food and accommodation. After working out how much this would cost to do independently (including entry fees, taxis etc.) the price of the tour, £62, seemed really reasonable and I went for it.
So, at 6:45am, I was standing by the tour operators office, yawning continuously, and waiting for the bus. Another selling point of the tour, was that trooper Tours work along with Fez Bus, a famous hop-on-hop-off bus services for backpackers in Turkey. The Fez Bus is known as a fun and friendly way for backpackers to get around Turkey, to meet other travellers and to generally have a good time, so I was looking forward to the trip. And after about 4 minutes of waiting, the small bus pulled up and a petite, smiley girl introduced herself as our guide.
Surprisingly, the passengers already on the bus, were an Indian family and two couples, one young and one middle-aged, not quite the crazy backpacker atmosphere I'd expected! Luckily, two English girls who'd just finished uni in Sheffield also climbed on the bus and their excited and chatty natures offered hope for some backpacker type fun.
After chatting to the girls, Gaby and G, for about 10 minutes, one of those crazy travelling coincidences jumped out of nowhere. Gaby told me that although she'd just finished uni, she was continuing her studies in September...at BPP Law School in London! Gaby would be doing the exact same course at the exact time in the exact same place as me! So, by climbing onto a random bus at a random time, in the corner of Turkey, I'd found one of my future classmates! Crazy!
After a comfortable drive to the town of Canakkale, the nearest town to the Gallipoli peninsula, we had a delicious buffet lunch before meeting our guide for the day. A small, greying man, with thick, round glasses held in place by a cord round his next, a Nike baseball cap and a checked shirt tucked into a high waistband ambled in front of us. In a thick accent he introduced himself as Ali, our guide.
Ali is a professional historian and a former Naval captain, two jobs that could be clearly seen in his movements and speech. Ali paced about in front of us, actually looking a bit like Mr Majekja, speaking at alternating tempos and volumes as he set out the story of Gallipoli. His accent and funny way of playing with words made it difficult to understand him at first, but once we'd got used to him, he turned out to be an excellent guide who really bought the history to life.
 Gallipoli is famous, or infamous, for being the doomed landing site of the British and ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Core) troops in the first world war, during their attempt to eliminate Turkey from the war. Dirty German tactics had forced Turkey into the war on the side of the Germans, and after a short time, the Allies set out to defeat them. The plan had been to land at strategic points on the flat beaches near Gallipoli, to quickly climb to high ground and to overcome the Turkish troops. However, for unclear reasons, the ANZAC troops landed 2km down the coast, and were faced with sheer cliffs with Turkish troops at the top. The harsh terrain and a number of further mistakes led to a disastrous defeat for the Allies, and the ANZAC troops suffered huge losses. This is one of the worst moments in Australian and Kiwi history, yet also one of the most important, with many of their citizens making pilgrimages to the collection of memorials that now stand in Gallipoli, particularly around ANZAC Day, a yearly day to remember the men who fought and lost their lives.
We visited the beaches where the troops were meant to land and where they actually landed, the difference was dramatic. The horrendous and sheer cliffs on the actual landing sites look impossible to scale and it was little wonder that the assault went wrong. We also visited various memorials to the troops, set in stern and sombre surroundings, placed to ensure we never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
 Probably the two most memorable things which Ali presented to us, were the closeness of the opposing trenches and the camadarie which developed between the Turkish and ANZAC troops. We drove along a single lane road, with the Turkish trenches marked on one side and the ANZAC trenches on the other, mere metres apart. Ali also explained the sheer futility of the fighting, and the fact that many months of fighting and 1000s of lost lives often brought no gain in land. The two forces were at a stalemate. This stalemate eventually led to the troops questioning the fighting and ultimately to many acts of humility and kindness between the two enemies. This bond still remains today and the Australians and Nez Zealanders troops are remembered as friends and brothers by the Turkish.
Although the sights themselves have few physical things to see, our guide was able to bring them alive and his passion was contagious. Ali lost a grandfather and 3 uncles to the war, and when he explains the futility of the fighting or the treachery of the Germans which forced them into the war, he faltered a little, before almost shouting in anguish as his eyes welled up. Although he's obviously been doing these tours for years, it really did feel like he did the tour as one-off, just for us.
 The Gallipoli tour took most of the day, and we arrived at our hostel in Canakkale late in the evening. Gaby, G and I checked into the dorm, where we met Joel and Ed, two Australians in the middle of their own travels. After introductions and the standard questions ("Where are you from?", "Where are you going?","How long are you travelling for?","What have you done so far?") we all set out to hunt for food and beers. The evening passed quietly as the five of us wandered along Canakkale's picturesque boardwalk, stopping for dinner and beers at a number of places. But it wasn't long before our eyelids became heavy and we returned to the hostel, exhausted, after a long day.
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