Back in Istanbul!

Since the last post we've had a busy couple of days. We started off with a visit to the ancient ruins of Troy. See pic on the left of the massive Trojan Horse at the entrance to the site with Richard in the top right window (in the orange shirt)!

The site is somewhat confusing as there are 9 main cities built one on top of the other, dating back to 3,000 BC. Apparently, since most houses were built of mudbrick, everytime the city was destroyed (e.g. earthquake/ war etc) some 40 years later more people would come and build on top of the rubble of the old city. The resulting mound is 15/20 metres high (remembering that this mound is entirely old cities), and was flattened off on top by the romans who built a Temple of Athena on top most recently (which was subsequently destroyed by a later civilisation).

Our guide was pretty fascinating and has written a book on Troy (of which we now own an autographed copy!). The ruins were only discovered in 1822/1890 by a German amateur archaeologist who was looking for the treasure of King Priam (which he subsequently found). There is now an international team excavating the site and so far an estimated 10% has been uncovered - still quite a way to go. They believe that the famous Trojan War occured in Troy version 6 and/or 7. Anyway, enough history you can google for more information if you're interested, or borrow our book when we get back! Pics on the left & right of some of the ruins.

Following Troy we headed back into Canakkale and then on to Gallipoli National Park via a ferry across the Dardanelles which is the passage of water which the Allied forces were fighting for to gain access to Russia. It is also the divide between the Europe and Asia continents, so we actually caught the ferry from Asia to Europe! (see pic of Richard on the boat on the right).

As you arrive on the Gallipoli peninsula there are gigantic letters in Turkish which say "Traveller halt! The soil you headlessly tread once witnessed the end of an era. Listen! In this quiet mound there once beat the heart of a nation." During the campaign it is estimated that there were over half a million casualties. Around half of them being Ottoman troops. Our tour leader said that most families in Turkey sent someone to defend their land so the war is very close to their hearts. Gallipoli was a very moving tour. We took 7 hours to see most of the sites including the intended landing site for the ANZACs, the actual landing site, the sites of some of the fiercest battles and quite a number of cemeteries. The number of bullets in the land is so high that the farmers now have a phrase "Ploughing the bullets" instead of ploughing the soil.

The stories told during the tour were also very moving. They told of the respect that was developed between the Turkish and the ANZAC's, with both sides calling a ceasefire one day to bury the dead, both sides throwing food to each other to try, the Turkish not firing when the ANZAC's played a game of cricket, and many more.

In addition, stories were told of the many mistakes made during the campaign and the many lives that were lost. Stories were also told of the conditions and the many people who died due to poor diet, poor sanitation and poor conditions. People died in the heat of the summer when flies were in the millions, passing on disease, people died of exposure in the cold of the winter when it snowed, and people drowned in the tunnels when it flooded.

Pic on the right showing the first beach cemetery (Hell Spit Cemetery) near the landing site, with a grave for John Simpson the "Man with the Donkey" who passed

through the battle grounds many times a day to collect the wounded and who collected an estimated 300-500 soldiers before being shot in the back, pic on the left of Lone Pine - a huge cemetery on the site of one of the bloodiest battles for the heights (an estimated 4,000 died here in a few days), another pic on the left of the first Turkish Prime Minister Ataturk who became famous during the war and who eventually led most of the Turkish troops and who took a bullet to the heart at Cunuk Bair which was stopped by his pocket watch. A very full 7 hours with a lot of emotion felt by all the visitors.

Eventually we caught the ferry back to Canakkale in time for sunset over Gallipoli. See pic on the left.

Today we were out of the hotel by 6:30am to catch the ferry back to Europe and a bus onto Istanbul which is where we are now, and which is where we will be for the next 4 days catching up on sites and some rest.

Love to all.