On the Road...

Well Andrea and I have made it into Georgia. A couple of weeks ago though we were in Istanbul and took time out of the city to travel down to Gallipoli. It was a very interesting and moving experience. I have never been on a battlefield tour, this one being my first and it gave me a real sense of what happened and how the soldiers must have felt. I didn't realise that 250,000 Turkish soldieers lost their lives defending their homeland from the Allies - mostly through disease. The Allied cemeteries are kept immaculate by the Commonwealth War Graves Association and the Turkish government have also ensured that the entire site is kept to a high standard. So many Aussies and Kiwis make the pilgrimage to this site. I explained to someone on the trip that what the Somme was to the British, Gallipoli is to the ANZACS.


The tour lasted three hours as we were bused around the various sites at Gallipoli. I also bought a map of the campaign, which is very interesting to look at and is memento of the afternoon.