Intrepid traveller... Gallipoli and Troy

Yesterday we visited the site of the Gallipoli landings – 25 April 1915. It was freezing cold, with snow covering the hilltops and gravesites around Lone Pine, but our guide, Aykut, made the experience more than memorable.

A sturdy Turk no taller than me, with startling blue eyes and an inability to feel wind-chill, is one of those extraordinary people who can retain facts and stats on every subject from every era. His knowledge of Gallipoli and the reasons for the Allied attempt on the Dardanelles is extensive, while his knowledge of Australian and New Zealand politics and propaganda during WWI put all of us Aussies and Kiwis to shame.

The Australian Memorial at Lone Pine

What struck me most was how small the whole area was. The beach at ANZAC Cove is only a few metres deep, with the length of the shoreline only 3.5 kilometres. The 9-month campaign covered three areas of fighting at the southern tip of the European side of Turkey, to the left of the Dardanelle passage and on average each side incurred casualties of 1,000 men per day. That’s 500,000 men killed or injured in just over 250 days of fighting – and in the end, the Allies were evacuated. Their fight goes down in history, as the only military landing that did not achieve its final objective. And yet, the men that fought there, on both sides, were undoubtedly heroes. Today their children and grandchildren continue to march in their honour, while others make a pilgrimage to Gallipoli to help keep their spirits alive. Last year 9,000 Australian, New Zealand and British tourists came to celebrate ANZAC Day, along with 10,000 Turks. I honestly can’t imagine how they – not to mention the soldiers back in 1915 – all fit.

A statue of the Trojan Horse from the film, Troy (2004) - donated to Canakkale by Warner Bros.

From modern history to ancient times, this morning we drove from Canakkale (on the Asian side of the Dardanelles) to the ruins of Troy. Aykut proved himself, once again, the human-Encarta, reminding us of the story of Homer’s Iliad while linking the fiction to facts. Up until 2003 the actual site of Ancient Troy was a point of contention – with ruins in Sweden and London being put forward by some archaeologists – however, excavation began on this Turkish site in the late 19th century. With its key position at the gateway to the Dardanelle passage, the city of Troy was inhabited for over 4,000 years, with the oldest human remains dating back to 3,500BC. Today we saw the remnants of walls more than 5,000 years old, once standing 12 metres tall, now around 7 but still 6 metres thick.

The view across the plains of Troy (the Roman pillar a relic from the period post 1,000 BC)

When you’re standing amongst so much history its easy to get overwhelmed, and while I heard a lot of interesting facts today, the one stuck was Aykut’s story about the Trojan invention of doors and windows (circa 2,400BC). As a seaport used by the ancient civilisations, Troy sparked the imaginations of the Greeks and Egyptians who started poking holes in their homes in 2,200 and 2,100BC respectively. File that one for your next trivia night!