This was a very informative tour. It was almost like a school history trip. All around, we learnt alot about ancient turkey, right up to modern turkey.
Along our trip, we visit the capital of Turkey, Ankara. It was the 4th capital of Turkey if I remember correctly, and was established after 1923 with the proclamation of the Turkisk democratic republic.
Pictures of Ankara the capital:
Among the places we visited was the Archaeological museum in Ankara. The important of findings is the great tribute and reference given in ancient times to the goddess of fertility. Women were greatly respected as they were seen to been the bearers of life. A picture of the goddess of fertility can be found in the bottom left of the picture below.
Another interesting feature of the museum is that you can find letters and documents engraved onto rocks, which includes a letter for marriage, divorce and a complaint.
Also the resting place of Ataturk, the first President of Turkey. For every foreign delegation that visits Turkey, it is customary for them to come to this place and lay a wreath in rememberance of the founder of the republic of Turkey. It was quite funny for us because the President of S'pore had recently made his first trip to Turkey, and Obama had recently come too, so when we saw the pictures on the wall, we excitedly asked the guard if we could take pictures of it (coz you're not allowed to take pictures inside)... aren't we proud Singaporeans :)
The changing of the guard and mausoleum where Khemal Ataturk is buried today
The second President is also buried in this area, and is also credited with having helped keep Turkey out of WWII, thus allowing it to deal with its own local issues. In WWII Turkey was a neutral country.
Gallipoli: most Australians/New Zealanders would be remember Gallipoli for Anzac day. But for the Turks, it is a very important area too as this is where Khemal Ataturk won the battle against the allies, and his fame as a hero began to spread around the country. This was also the turning point for the Turks who had their country invaded after WW1 by the allies, and this was a decisive victory which would had determined whether there would still be a Turkey today or not. By the end of WWI, the allies realized that control of the Dardanelles could not be solely won by a naval battle, it had to be done with a land battle as well, thus started all this drafting of extra soldiers from the commonwealth countries.
So you have all this naive soldiers from Aus/NZ, warring into battle, not even knowing who their enemy was. Many died immediately upon reaching Gallipoli as the allies had made a calculation error and landed on an open coast that was vulnerable to enemy fire. However, what is heartwarming is the stories of how the two sides slowly began to gain respect for one another and there are stories of the two sides sharing water,food, cigerettes. Stories of an enemy helping to bring his injured enemy back to his side of the battle so that he could be treated properly... these are the stories of courage that make people want to cry when they come to this place... two sides fighting for something that they all wholeheartedly believed in, and all because some stupid old fool had the stupid sense to order an entire country to war...
Crossing the Dardanelles
Place where the Anzac memorial service is conducted every year at 4am in the morning. The roads are very narrow and visitors to the memorial have to make the 5km trek to the place on foot.
Lone Pine Cemetery - > main memorial to the Australian soldiers
Turkish War memorial
Status of the oldest turkish soldier in this campaign, accompanied with his granddaughter when he came here to visit the memorial a few years back.
The memorial below of the Turkish soldier carrying his wounded enemy is a story from Lieutenant Casey, later to become Australian Governor General, 1967:
New Zealand war memorial. The third picture is a picture of the trenches dug and used during the campaign by the Turks, which remain till today
Along our trip, we visit the capital of Turkey, Ankara. It was the 4th capital of Turkey if I remember correctly, and was established after 1923 with the proclamation of the Turkisk democratic republic.
Pictures of Ankara the capital:
Among the places we visited was the Archaeological museum in Ankara. The important of findings is the great tribute and reference given in ancient times to the goddess of fertility. Women were greatly respected as they were seen to been the bearers of life. A picture of the goddess of fertility can be found in the bottom left of the picture below.
Another interesting feature of the museum is that you can find letters and documents engraved onto rocks, which includes a letter for marriage, divorce and a complaint.
Also the resting place of Ataturk, the first President of Turkey. For every foreign delegation that visits Turkey, it is customary for them to come to this place and lay a wreath in rememberance of the founder of the republic of Turkey. It was quite funny for us because the President of S'pore had recently made his first trip to Turkey, and Obama had recently come too, so when we saw the pictures on the wall, we excitedly asked the guard if we could take pictures of it (coz you're not allowed to take pictures inside)... aren't we proud Singaporeans :)
The changing of the guard and mausoleum where Khemal Ataturk is buried today
The second President is also buried in this area, and is also credited with having helped keep Turkey out of WWII, thus allowing it to deal with its own local issues. In WWII Turkey was a neutral country.
Gallipoli: most Australians/New Zealanders would be remember Gallipoli for Anzac day. But for the Turks, it is a very important area too as this is where Khemal Ataturk won the battle against the allies, and his fame as a hero began to spread around the country. This was also the turning point for the Turks who had their country invaded after WW1 by the allies, and this was a decisive victory which would had determined whether there would still be a Turkey today or not. By the end of WWI, the allies realized that control of the Dardanelles could not be solely won by a naval battle, it had to be done with a land battle as well, thus started all this drafting of extra soldiers from the commonwealth countries.
So you have all this naive soldiers from Aus/NZ, warring into battle, not even knowing who their enemy was. Many died immediately upon reaching Gallipoli as the allies had made a calculation error and landed on an open coast that was vulnerable to enemy fire. However, what is heartwarming is the stories of how the two sides slowly began to gain respect for one another and there are stories of the two sides sharing water,food, cigerettes. Stories of an enemy helping to bring his injured enemy back to his side of the battle so that he could be treated properly... these are the stories of courage that make people want to cry when they come to this place... two sides fighting for something that they all wholeheartedly believed in, and all because some stupid old fool had the stupid sense to order an entire country to war...
Crossing the Dardanelles
Place where the Anzac memorial service is conducted every year at 4am in the morning. The roads are very narrow and visitors to the memorial have to make the 5km trek to the place on foot.
Lone Pine Cemetery - > main memorial to the Australian soldiers
Turkish War memorial
Status of the oldest turkish soldier in this campaign, accompanied with his granddaughter when he came here to visit the memorial a few years back.
The memorial below of the Turkish soldier carrying his wounded enemy is a story from Lieutenant Casey, later to become Australian Governor General, 1967:
| At Chunuk Bair on 25th April, 1915 there was heavy trench fighting between the Turks and the Allies. The distance between the trenches was between eight and ten meters. Cease-fire was called after a bayonet attack and the soldiers returned to their trenches. There were heavy casualties on both sides and each collected their dead and wounded. From between the two trench lines came a call, a cry for help from an English Captain who was very badly wounded in the leg. Unfortunately no one could leave their trenches because the slightest movement resulted in the firing of hundreds of bullets. At that moment, and incredible even occurred. A piece of white underwear was raised from one of the Turkish trenches and a well-built, unarmed soldier appeared. Everyone was stunned and we stared in amazement. The Turk walked slowly to the wounded British soldier and gently lifted him, took him in his arms and started to walk towards our trenches. He placed him down on the ground near us and then straight-away returned to his trench. We couldn't even thank him. This courageous and beautiful act of the Turkish Soldier has been spoken about many times on battlefields. Our love and deepest respect to this brave and heroic soldier. |
New Zealand war memorial. The third picture is a picture of the trenches dug and used during the campaign by the Turks, which remain till today
