Canakkale to Istanbul.

Another early start, another excellent breakfast (although I have started just having the scrambled eggs and toast to keep my system in the loop) and we were set for the morning most of us  had been waiting for. 

The tour group has 31 Aussies out of 39 travellers so the excursion to Galipoli was always going to be highly anticipated and the morning was beautiful. The car ferry over the Dardanelles cruised through still blue water and I imagined how the troop carriers would have crossed this water in 1915. The entrance to the Sea of Marmara is really narrow and reminded me of the Hawkesbury River, only a little wider. You can see why this strip of land has seen so much warfare as it is the entrance to the Bosphorus, the Black Sea beyond and thereby the East. Throughout history it has been the key to the passage of trade and the wealth of many empires relied on its control, therefore it has always been a military target. Aran gave a really great talk as we approached Gallipoli and explained the importance of the Galipoli campaign from both the Allied and Turkish point of view, in particular highlighting why the battle is so important to Australians. We drove past a low flat section of the coast that Aran explained as the actual spot the Anzacs were meant to land at. It was about a mile and a half from the spot they mistakenly hit due to the currents. We then drove into B Point and disembarked.

This is the spot the Anzacs hit on April 25 and you could see immediately why they were in a completely hopeless situation. On this beautiful morning, with the water so crystal clear, the place absolutely silent and the graves of the diggers spread out on the lawn, you could not help but be deeply moved. The reality of seeing the terrain - the narrow beach, the sheer hills and the water behind really emphasises how brutally they would have been slaughtered. Their task was impossible.

The tour he gave was superb. He covered every part of the territory in the order of the campaign engagements. Anzac Cove, where the supplies were landed, Shrapnel Valley, from where the Anzacs dug their tunnels to attempt to take the hills above, Lone Pine, named by the Grandson of Eureka Stockade hero Peter Lalor, the only high point the Aussies gained during the campaign and then the view out to Suvla Bay where the reinforcements landed and the spot from which the withdrawal began.

All in all an unforgettable morning. Amongst so many emotional experiences, reading the wonderful words of Ataturk engraved on a stone monument commemorating the Anzacs at Anzac Cove, a spot that is reminiscent of Port Stephens, was particularly special. 

We drove on afterwards, a long haul back into Istanbul.

In the late afternoon we cruised the Bosphorus for the second time. It is a stunning waterway, the shoreline lined with castles, multi million dollar mansions, palaces and clubs, whilst freighters and cargo vessels motor up the centre on their way to Russia and the Caucuses.

We went into the city for dinner at a roof top restaurant overlooking the Blue Mosque. The food was excellent and once more we were struck by the friendly, relaxed waiters and helpful locals. Our experience of the Turks has been really positive...in fact we all have commented on how much some of our xenophobic countrymen back home could learn from them. 

Our final tour day began with many warnings from Aran about how hard the day would be. It was the big tourist day, the Blue Mosque, St Sophia and Topkapi Palace and Aran was doing the big gee up:

"You haf to perform today lazen jenman....."

It was very very hot from the get go, and huge crowds were all over the Hippodrome area. Long queues into the Blue Mosque meant we had a long wait to see this extraordinary building from the inside for the first time. We sought out the shade like a herd of cows, but finally got inside. It was really impressive but were were shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, heads down bum up all the way. 

Michele looked stunning in her veil...very mystical East. One of our tour group broke free and started taking pics with his high end camera in the middle of the floor, clearly reserved for the Muslim worshippers. He had done this throughout the tour and many secretly wished for a sniper to finally take him out....but no, he got his shots and there were no shots, unfortunately.

We were herded into Topkapi Palace and although this is clearly an amazing, intricate, exotic place it was a little lost in the mayhem. It was so overcrowded you could not really appreciate it.

Ditto St Sophia. This is the biggest Christian Church ever built. It became a mosque and then finally Ataturk (what a bloody great bloke) turned it into a museum to establish it as neutral ground for all to enjoy. It was the most impressive in my opinion, an amazing feat of engineering for the 7th C. AD and an incredible vast space. 

We wandered around after wards, while the tour group took in the Grand Bazaar...there was no need for us to go back there again...and we then had a late lunch. 

The tour celebration dinner took place in a seafood restaurant that night and it was farewell to our companions of the Turkish Delights insight Tour. 

It was really great. It gave us a whirlwind sample of a country we had never seen before, the tour leader was fantastic and we were attached to an eclectic group, who supplied us with no end of comedy material. Even the lady who Michele nearly came to blows with over seat rotation..... I knew seat rotation would end up with someone in tears.