2011 Spirit of ANZAC Prize Tour: Lest We Forget....

Day #3
Gallipoli: Sunny, approx. 12 degrees celcius....

Up early (damn you 6am wake up call) and a breakfast of dried fruit (figs, apricots and dates), cheeses (including chocolate cheese!) and bread. All washed down with Turkish coffee and a piece of lokum. Delish!! No way was I settling for boring bloody breakfast cereal!

Coastline on way to Gallipoli

We piled onto the bus and headed off toward the Gallipoli Peninsula. A game of 'Spotto' got the kids searching for a variety of different things along the way through the city. Our guide, Dean, filled us in on some interesting aspects of Turkey as we drove along:

The population of Istanbul is about 14 million, although it may be much higher than that.
When the census is taken, people need to stay inside for 24 hours and wait for someone to come around and count for them (not so accurate perhaps??)
The longest word in Turkish is 184 characters and is “you're not one of those from the Czech Republic, are you?”
“Dolmus” (to be full or stuffed) are a kind of public transportation – like a cross between a bus and a taxi. They are the size of a mini bus are go around collecting people off the street, sometimes at designated 'bus stops' or from just off the side of the road as you are walking along. The dolmus will then take you to wherever your destination is. Cool!
Turkey produces 74% of the world's hazelnuts.
The country has a surplus of food and exports the surplus around the world.
Until 1935, Turks didn't have a surname.....this was something that Attaturk implemented.
There is a word in Turkish that means “you are shaming your country”. For example: If a man is harassing a young woman and she says this, the likelihood is that he will be set upon by others....Dean saw an example of this on a bus and the man was beaten off the bus by old ladies with umbrellas. We think there should be an equivalent word in English!

It's pretty cool to be driving along and across the Sea of Marmora and look across the water and, hello: there's Asia! We stopped at Gelibolu (which means pretty Greek town in Greek) and talked about the sinking of the AE2: the Australian E-class submarine.Then on to Eceabat for lunch where we saw the famous statue of Corporal Seyyit: all the men around him had been killed and he needed to put a 275 kg shell into a cannon to fire at the 'invaders' (really, that's what we were!). He put the shell on his back, fired the cannon and hit the Allied battleship 'Ocean'. Years later when Attaturk visited him and asked how we could have lifted it, he replied, “With the belief of God”. Seyyit souvenirs do a roaring trade on the Peninsula with good reason!

At Gelibolu

Corporal Seyyit

Arriving at ANZAC Cove, we took some commemorative photos. It was quite surreal standing on the side of the road, looking at the 'ANZAC Cove' sign and realising that I had actually made it to Gallipoli.

The SOAP Gang

It's pretty hard to describe the feelings that welled up in me. On a beautiful sunny day, it is pretty hard to fathom the devastation that eventuated for so many Australians here. Although the terrain is unforgiving, when looking out across the water, it could be a beach anywhere in the world. The pebbles and rocks on the beach must have been a nightmare to walk on for troops that were heavily laden with packs and rifles.

Ari Burnu Cemetery is located on the beach at Gallipoli. There are trees, flowers and shrubs that line the cemetery and the graves.

Attaturk's famous words

Professor Bruce Scates doing a reading at Ari Burnu Cemetery

As it is spring, there are splashes of colour. With the sun shining and flowers blooming, it is a beautiful setting for those who died here. Tom played 'Amazing Grace' on the bagpipes and everyone's heart broke. There was not a dry eye on the beach as the mournful sound of the bagpipes floated out across the water. It is one of the most poignant things I have heard. And a fitting tribute for those who lay here.

A walk along the beach demonstrated to us just how difficult it must have been for all those diggers who landed on the first day. The rocks on the beach make it difficult to walk. We strolled along the beach and then headed up to Beach Cemetery: where John Simpson Kirkpatrick (from 'Simpson and his donkey' fame) is buried. For me, this was an important grave to visit. I grew up hearing stories about Simpson and his donkey, Murphy. When we would go to the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, the first place I would visit was the statue of Simpson and his donkey. It's a beautiful cemetery....it sounds like an oxymoron, but all of the cemeteries we visited on the Peninsula where just that: beautiful!

It was not only Australian and New Zealand soldiers who died here

Tom playing 'Amazing Grace'

Beach Cemetery

Simpson's grave

Each of us (students and adults) were requested to adopt a digger and to write a commemorative speech to honour that particular digger. A ceremony was established for each commemoration: we would read our speech about our digger, Hadley would play the Last Post; David, our veteran, would recite The Ode to the Fallen*; we would observe a minute of silence; Hadley would play the Rouse and then David would finish the service by declaring 'Lest We Forget'.

*They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them

(By Lawrence Binyon)

The first of our ceremonies with Rachel eulogising her digger was very emotional. As we looked out over the sea, Hadley played the Last Post on the bugle that was loaned to him a week earlier. Hadley actually plays the trumpet and has done so for about 4 years. In a week he was able to adapt his skills to playing the bugle. Looking across the sea, listening to the waves as they hit the shore and thinking about those poor bastards who landed on the 25^th of April, 1915 was an experience that I can't put into words. However, I know that I will never forget that moving first ceremony. It was a very emotional event.

Shrapnel Valley Cemetery is situated in....funnily enough....a valley....and is a beautiful setting. Up from the cemetery is Plugge's Plateau which gives you a great view across the peninsula....and is a bloody tough climb, and that was with steps. Those diggers were hardy bastards!!!

View from Plugge's #1

View from Plugge's #2

View from Plugge's #3

We then continued on to Shell's Green which was named for the swaying flowers that the soldiers saw and they reminded them of shells. This was the location for cricket matches during the war. Gotta love that Aussie spirit!! Liz Smart talked about her adopted digger here and once again the mournful sounds of the Last Post echoed out. From this point we were able to observe a beautiful sunset and we followed the path of the sun as we walked down to the beach. It was a fitting end to such a moving and, surprisingly, enjoyable day.

So many beautiful epithaths....a relative of A.B. Facey....

Hadley playing the Last Post

A beautiful end to a memorable day....

It has been really interesting to read the different epithaths on the graves here. Eventually I will have to pick a favourite, but there are so many moving ones to choose from. At times, the sadness and waste of this place really gets to you; some of the epithaths play a big role in this. Other times, we have found something to laugh about and whilst it seems strange (wrong?) to be laughing in a cemetery, we think that the boys who are lying beneath us appreciate hearing young voices and laughter.

One of the (many!) surprises that I have found in this beautiful county: frogs singing away as I walked back to my room after dinner. Such a happy and familiar sound.