Turkey

17 April
We nearly didn't get into Turkey. Rose's visa stuffed up (I think she's cursed with visas!) so after about 3 hours in customs and passport lines, we emerged into arrivals having missed the topdeck tour welcome. We freaked out for a little bit, but then got a shuttle bus to our hotel and walked into the foyer right in the middle of the tour briefing. Awkward! After an entire day travelling, collapsing into our hotel room was the best feeling in the world. That night we headed out for drinks in the centre of Istanbul and met some other Kiwi and Aussie travellers. Lots of fun, although they were all 23+...I feel so young whenever I travel!

18 April
We woke up with all intentions of exploring Istanbul, but it was POURING down with rain so we spent a day relaxing in the hotel and chilling out with the people we met the last night. That night, we had a bit of a messy night out with the 'Fanatics', a tour group that was significantly more bogan than ours. Our night involved a blow up kangaroo and a karaoke bar...

19 April
After a yummy Turkish style breakfast (yoghurt and fruit, yummmm!), we went on a walking tour of the main Istanbul attractions. We went to the Blue Mosque, which was quite amazing. Our tour guide Tolga (who I liked at first then ended up hating by the end) told us facts about the city - at one point we were standing in a Hippodrome that was thousands of years old and had been used for chariot races! We had free time after that and headed to the Grand Bazaar, which I loved! The vendors were so fuuny, we'd walk past them and they would yell out things like 'Hey Spice Girls! Charlie's Angels! You want scarf?' I got 'Heyyy Jennifer Lopez' so many times it's not even funny. After spending a couple of hours there we took a ferry around the bay. We got to see a lot more of Istanbul that way, see how massive it actually is. 15 million people live in Istanbul - that's like 3/4 of Auustralia's population in just one city. Crazy!

20 April
Today was the day of the massive long drive. 10 hours. The turkish countryside was all that I thought it would be - three people on a bike, old men with donkeys, etc etc. At the start of our drive a typically Turkish driver crashed into the back of our bus, and from then on we all called ourselves 'Team Dinted'. (because the back of the bus was dinted...geddit?). We stopped at a couple of parks etc along the way to relax, until finally getting to Pamukalle.


21 April
We visited the ancient site of Aphrodisias and the calcium cliffs of Pamukalle. I think today, apart from ANZAC Day, was my favourite. The cliffs were incredible. The sun reflecting off the white sheer cliff face was surreal, and we paddled in the thermal pools that were on top of the cliff. Very cool. Visiting the ancient city was fantastic, because it was the first one we had visited and I was blown away by how OLD everything was. The thing about Turkey, once you've seen one ancient city you've kind of seen them all...From Aphrodisias we drove to Kusadasi, a beautiful beachside resort, and had the most gorgeous view from our window. Spent the afternoon walking along the beach and eating magnums. Mmmm gap years are hard! That night we went out and I was extremely...happy.

22 April
Second day in Kusadasi! After a lie-in, we headed off to Ephesus, another ancient city that was massive an really well preserves. There were loads of people there, and because many of us were hungover/still tipsy from the night before, it was quite a fun day! It was at this point that our tour guide began to annoy me and many of the others - he had no idea what he was on about, and would make sure he walked far ahead so he could read the stuff on the info signs before telling us and passing it off as his own. So we ignored him and made up our own history instead. Example A - Erin. 'And on your left you have a giant really old stone wall, built by an old Greek guy called Ned.'


We also had 'borrowed' Skippy the Kangaroo from another tour group and took photos with him all day. The city was the best preserved out of all the ones we went to, you could really get a full idea of how it might have been 2000 years ago. There were still original mosaics and everything. On the way back to Kusadasi we ended up at a Turkish fashion show. It was the most random experience of my life. Random in the true sense of the word. One minute I'm driving through Turkish countryside, the next I'm being herded into a small room with a catwalk and pounding music, watching 'models' and being asked if I want to buy a 700 euro leaher jacket... That afternoon we grabbed a magnum and sat on the beach relaxing (some Turkish girls came up to us and practiced their English, so cute!), then the others went out to a pub. Kate and I couldn't be bothered, so we stayed in and talked.

23 April
Started off the day in Pergamon, by catching a cable car up to another ancient city. It was very pretty, and VERY windy - apparantly people used to go there to be 'healed' by the wind. After that we headed to a an island that used to be a Greek island. You could totally tell, it was just beautiful. Old timber boats floating next to the boardwalk, seaside restaurants..Kate and I bought a Magnum (yes, we were addicted!) and walked along the path for aged. After another long drive we ended up at another hotel - we were all exhausted so everyone literally fell into bed.

24 April?ANZAC Day
Stopped at Troy, and took some obligatory pictures with the reconstruction of the famous horse before speeding off to Gallipoli. We wanted to get there early and rose in protest against our guide who wanted to stop for an hour or two because he wanted lunch. No luck buddy. We stopped briefly at a supermarket to get supplies for the next day or so. Of course I went overboard and got myself 4 bags of food. When we got to Gallipoli we waited for a couple of hours (in the sun, making friends with strangers, it was lovely!) before slowly - VERY slowly - being let through security. They let the boys in first, so the Turkish guards had some assertive feminist Australians and Kiwis demanding to know why we had to wait and the guys could head right in. Yours truly included.
Once we were through we found ourselves a spot on the grass, and staked our claim with sleeping bags and my bags of food. Kate and I talked for hours, in between the presentations, until the lucky thing fell asleep at midnight and woke up at 4. I was lucky enough to be lying on a rock so I stayed awake all night (It was so cold!!), curled up in my sleeping bag and listening to the videos, documentaries and music that went on the entire night. The music was incredible - there was one piece titled 'Invasion' that was absolutely indescribable. Aisling woke up during it and said 'SHIT! I thought we were being invaded!!'
Just before the dawn service started there was a part where the names and epitahs were read out of certain soldiers. This is the point at which I started sobbing. There were so many names read out that could have been my brother, my cousins, my friends. I know I'm sounding unbearably pretentious and wanky but just bear with me. It's just so unfair that so many soldiers have to die through war to keep our country safe. Not only during WWI, but all wars. It sucks.

Dawn service at Gallipoli was, without a doubt, one of the most emotional, intense and moving experiences of my life.
Standing at ANZAC Cove with thousands of other Australians and New Zealanders, listening to the Last Post after a cold sleepless night under the stars, while remembering those throughout the years that have fought and died for our country was such an incredible honour. I will never forget it.

War has touched so many families, including my own. There are so many people back in Australia who think that being patriotic equals being a bogan. Not true in the slightest. I love my country, I think it’s one of the best in the world, and I can say that because hundreds of thousands of Australians have fought to keep it that way.

I’m proud to say that I sang both the Australian and New Zealand national anthems with pride, and choked on my tears thoughout. ANZAC Day has always been a special day for me, and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to travel to the place where our national identity first became our own.

Lest we forget.

After the Dawn Service I headed up to Lone Pine after accidentally-on-purpose losing the others (yeah sorry guys, suprise!), because I wanted to take my time with everything and be alone to reflect on what had just happened. You're only at Gallipoli once. I wandered into cemetaries and along ANZAC Cove. The Australian Service was good, although we all nearly fell asleep because we hadn't slept for 24 hours. Seeing Lone Pine was quite surreal, I can't beleive how SMALL it was. I mean, you learn about that battle but I never realised what a little bit of land it actually was. The Inter Studies class St Bedes from Mentone was there...lucky things, where was our trip to Gallipoli Ms. Kelly?! After the worst hike uphill to Chunuk Bair (I was about to die), we hopped on a bus back to Istanbul. I had a stomach bug and cramps, so it was pretty much the bus ride from hell. Lovely.

But the shower back at the hotel was AMAZING. Heaven is a hot shower after 48 hours without washing, I am sure of it.