Turkey at last: Istanbul and Gallipoli

Turkey, what can I say? If you're a fan of honey, pistachios, beautiful places, kind people, and rich history, you need to go to Turkey.

My bus tour was with Travel Talk, and started in Istanbul. We visited all the must sees, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Palace, and also had some free time in which I discovered the most glorious dessert place ever! 

Everyone was very kind, from the greeting at my arrival at the airport to the moment I left, I found the Turkish people to show a generosity and hospitality I had not expected, one extended in part because of our history fighting against each other, which blew my mind, but more on that soon. 
Hagia Sophia has apparently been under renovation for somewhere between 10 and 20 years, so it was hard to get away from the semi-permanent scaffolding, but it was a sight to see. It was unique in that it had been a church first, then a mosque, and now is a museum, so had remaining signs of its different uses historically. 

As opposed to a normal scenario, where the churches would get destroyed and mosques would be built, the Ottomans had advanced so quickly they needed mosques instantly, so had converted churches instead of destroying them, but had a thing for scratching the eyes out as they believe you can't have any images of humans or animals. But I'm getting off topic. It was beautiful. 

After a day in Istanbul, we left early the following morning for Gallipoli, a place on my bucket list and the original reason I had booked this trip. As I mentioned briefly, I was not expecting the level of honour and embrace we were given as Kiwis (and Aussies) at this hallowed place.   

For those non New Zealand/Australians among us, the short version is there was a battle fought between Germany and Britain on Gallipoli in the First World War, and due to some bad decision making on the part of the generals somewhere far away, a lot of people died. Most of these people were either Turks, fighting for Germany, or ANZACs (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) fighting for Britain. Most were youths, and it was the first battle they'd fought in. No one really won, eventually what was left of the ANZACs withdrew, but our Rememberance Day in New Zealand is called Anzac day to honour what happened. 

The tragedy to me was that we didn't even have anything against each other. There are even stories about the Turks coming down to the beach and playing cricket with the Anzacs, and the New Zealand soldiers throwing cans of food from their trenches to the Turks in exchange for cigarettes, giving it the name, "The last gentleman's war."

Now, Turkey has made it a memorial reserve, no one is allowed to swim or fish there, and they have made beautiful memorial sites for the different nations who fought there, including a plaque which had me tearing up.

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives...
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours...
You. The mothers. Who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."

It was a powerful moment, one where I came to a deep respect for Turkey, whose perspective I had never considered in all the stories I had heard of Gallipoli. I only hope that roles reversed we would come to the same level of honour.