Istanbul > Ecebat > Gallipoli>Istanbul
We headed to Istanbul in order to be able to go to Gallipoli on ANZAC day. Our arrival in Istanbul was pretty seemless. We stayed at a hotel close to the airport for a night or two and worked remotely. The food wasn't what I'd call top quality, but the comfort and service was great. After this, we drove a few hours to Ecebat and went to bed to be ready for an early start to make the dawn service. It was a lot of travel, but it was nice to be able to head there on our own and sleep in a bit, rather than camp out the entire night at ANZAC cove like some people do (I've heard this can be lovely too but we both value sleep too much)!
We got up around 2am to make the park and ride for private vehicles. We to ANZAC Cove while it was obviously still dark and a few people were still trying to get some rest while the initial documentary showings and announcements were being made between 3 - 5am. We got some turkish snacks from a food truck and tried to focus. After the dawn service at ANZAC Cove, which included addresses from Kiwi, Aussie and Turkish representatives, we headed back out for a fairly hefty walk to the NZ Service at Chunuk Bair.
On the way, it was much sunnier and lighter, so I could see not just the red poppies but pink, orange and yellow ones scattered around - something I hadn't been expecting. Walking through the surroundings where there weren't just headstones and remembrance monuments, but also remains of the trenches from the events in question, was quite a surreal experience.
I found many of the words from the NZ service extremely moving and poignant, especially given that war still wages on in many parts of the world today.
On from the service, we spent another night in Ecebat and returned to a cafe we had eaten at the night before. Simple and extremely good food there! We then made the drive back to Istanbul.
Now the next part of our journey is where part of our travel story gets a bit more wacky and stressful...
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