Wednesday, April 25, 2012
A year ago today I was at Gallipoli, Turkey, for the Anzac Day Dawn Service.
While I delved a little into the week I'd spent around Istanbul at the time, reflecting on it now I know just how wonderful the experience was. I made some amazing friends on my six-day tour which definitely makes it all the richer, and we were all there for the right reasons. Going to Gallipoli was one of, if not THE most, sombre experiences of my life. And it wasn't just the service, it's also the walk you make back up to Lone Pine, seeing the service there, then the uphill climb to the highest point at Chunuk Bair for the Kiwis. Seeing the Turkish at their own service along the way was a surprise that I should've expected but it helped sink in that there were two sides to this conflict that still feel the effects generations on.
We got to feel a small part of what they had to deal with, the night just bearable but the day growing colder and colder as it went on. I don't remember being so cold for so long, probably ever in my life. Thankfully there was no rain.
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| Lone Pine |
That never translated to being over Turkey.
Here are a few more photos to sum up my Topdeck tour:
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| Getting to know tourmates over a good ol' smoke-up |
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| Galata Tower. Unfortunately I failed to go in... |
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| Inside the Blue Mosque |
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| The Hagia Sophia |
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| The winding streets were crazy enough compared to inside the Grand Bazaar! |
Thursday, January 12, 2012
With my recent explorations past Dubbo, I have something to show for it other than photos. Last night I cracked open some dessert wine and cheese from Mudgee, because I could.
Semillion from Lowe's estate and near-blue cheese called Mudgee Rouge from High Valley (I think). So excellent that it helped me crash out on the couch until 2:43am this morning.
And then there are the comforts of home that I hold onto because they can last me a bit longer. Anyone from South Australia will recognise these.
Haigh's Chocolates - the best in Australia. Don't know if I can say the world, I tried that argument against two Swiss guys and their Lindt once and didn't do so well. But my argument was that I'd actually tried both!
And then there's Fruchocs. God these things are good. Fellow ANZACs on my Turkey tour were pleasantly surprised when they enjoyed these as we camped at Gallipoli. Good times.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
So I'm sitting in my hostel room in Istanbul post-ANZAC tour, head bent at a very awkward angle but loving the view over the Bosphorus. It's chilly today as it has been all week, and waking up with a sore throat that's gotten worse all day cannot be good. Incase you were wondering, nooo I was not drinking heavily last night!
What a beautiful city Istanbul has been... have one more day here but I've seen and done so much. Except Macca's - that's either tonight or tomorrow. Came back from the Hagia Sofya just before, luckily got a local tour guide who got us in pretty quickly and told us all the intricate details about its wonderful history. I've cruised across the Bosphorus River, been repeatedly told I'm one of (millions of) angels from paradise, relaxed in Turkish baths that are over 500 years old, tried to be set up with the guy whose family owns the shop across from the tour hotel and sampled what's said to be the best Turkish Delight, honeycomb and nut delicacies in the Egyptian Bazaar (Spice Market) – check it out!
Then there was Gallipoli. What an absolute privilege to be a part of. Such a fun and sombre experience... the ride was long, we were told no pre-tours of the sites would be allowed, killed time in the next town over, went back to wait only to see buses moving through (must be mentioned our local driver was a gun – craziest ten-point-turn I've seen in my life, let three of the group back in as we were moving, got through past half the other buses and we were some of the first to get into the site...). Had a great vantage point snuggled in my sleeping bag, spent the night slowly getting colder and colder, but got through on cold bread and dips, chocolate and chips... sooooo many chips. Thanks to a drunk Katie the day before ;D Oh yeah, and we may have been on Turkish TV flicking through the program... have to look that up.
The Dawn Service itself was the most moving for me. The Last Post is incredibly haunting and it moved me to tears. Australian service was professional but nice – but apparently the NZ version was much more laidback. The stands were minimal so my small group missed out on that one. We were blessed with dry weather and little wind through the night. And less people than previous years too apparently – we didn't have to move at all.
A shipping ferry's just passing called the Euronav – Nav, I went to Food Republic in Singapore! But there were two along Orchard Rd so I hope it was the right one. But amazing and cheap. Walked/Metroed around Singapore City for about 12 hours straight – took Sentosa Island in, had the spiciest chicken tikka masala of my life in Little India, and promised myself I'd be back to Haji Lane to stock up on some wicked clothes before hitting home.
The Royal Wedding's coming up on Friday, very keen on trying to discover what the weirdest souvenir is. But I think tomorrow calls for a relaxed (and cheap) last full day in Turkey. Just wish I could've discovered more of this inviting country.
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