GALLIPOLI

As Envoy cruised up the narrow buoyed channel towards Ayvalik a RIB was heading directly bow-on towards us. When it was about 30m away we could see it was a Turkish Coastguard RIB, and the officers were signaling us to slow down. I checked our speed as 5.5 knots, and Envoy doesn’t put up any wake at any speed. We thought that being told off for “speeding” in Envoy was highly amusing, and noticed that Turkish boats traveling much faster with sizeable wakes were not approached by the Coastguard.

A Turkish-style rough and ready beach house near Ayvalik



We had originally planned to cruise about 80NM north from Ayvalik through the Dardanelles to Cannakale to visit Gallipoli, but the gale had not abated so we decided to leave Envoy in the Ayvalik Marina and take a rental car to Cannakale. The marina cost here was Euro 86 (about NZ$148) per day including power and non-potable water. In fact the gale lasted for 11 days, and although the wind in our area only reached about 30 knots, it was stronger in the open sea, and would have been decidedly uncomfortable.

Rough sea in the Dardanelles in a gale. We were pleased to have made the journey by car



The marina staff assisted us with the procedure for clearing-in to Turkey, and took me to visit the Port Police. The officer in charge, who looked very busy on his computer, asked me to come around to his side of the desk to see his screen. He was in fact busy playing a racing car game, and insisted on me watching his (lack of) driving skills for twenty minutes or so.
Back in Turkey we quickly got used to the Muslim calls to prayer again. These last about two minutes and are broadcast from loudspeakers at the top of a mosque’s minaret. They can be clearly heard in most places - the first is at dawn, and the last is two hours after sunset.
Driving in Turkey is always an experience. No notice is taken of speed limits with cars commonly driving 50km/hr or more above speed limits. Nor is there any regard for no-overtaking double lines, and vehicles overtake very dangerously, forcing oncoming traffic to pull over onto the shoulder. As we followed a car along a hilly winding road, we saw a large truck coming towards us on our side of the road overtaking another, forcing the car in front and ourselves to take evasive action. Later we saw a major accident where an articulated truck had lost it’s trailer into a roadside ditch.
We arrived safely in Cannakale and checked into the Hotel Helen – named after Helen of Troy, as Troy is close-by. This was the first time since leaving Marmaris in early May that we’d slept ashore.

This reproduction of Troy’s wooded horse was used during the making of the movie



We had decided to book a day tour of Gallipoli (the Turks call it Gelibolu), and this turned out to be the right decision as we would never have found the various interesting sites by ourselves. Our Turkish guide, Murat, was very passionate and gave moving accounts of great bravery on both sides. He described one incident where a wounded British Captain was moaning with pain in no-man’s land, and nobody could reach him due to the intensity of fire. A Turkish soldier put up a white flag of truce, walked unarmed to the wounded soldier, and assisted him to safety. We were all greatly moved, and then he asked if there were any questions. One insensitive member of our tour group replied, “yes I have one, are there many fish in the sea around here?”

Statue of heroic Turkish soldier rescuing wounded British soldier from no-man's land



Our visit was extremely worthwhile and we were deeply moved by the sites we visited, and the hardships that men on both sides had to endure. It was particularly interesting to get the Turkish perspective of this battle, and the extraordinary ineptitude of the British Command – the first fundamental mistake being landing the Anzacs about one mile north of the intended spot where there were high cliffs instead of the intended quite flat countryside.

Anzac Cove where the ANZAC troops were mistakenly landed by the British



At the time the area was only defended by 160 Turks. Most of them were killed, and the Anzacs reached the high ground on the first day. Due to lack of orders they vacated it to re-supply, and after Turkish reinforcements arrived on the second day they were never to reach it again, except for New Zealanders who later reached the high ground of Chunuk Bair for a couple of days before they were driven back.

Chunuk Bair – the highest ground – was breached only by New Zealand’s Wellington Regiment, and here is a statue of Kemel Ataturk and the memoral to fallen New Zealanders



Total casualties during the campaign were around 500,000, roughly half Turkish and half Allied forces. As Murat phrased it the Turks died in defense of their country, and the British, Australians, New Zealanders (2,721 killed), French and Indians died for nothing.

Memorial to the ANZACS



This battle was the largest that the Turks fought in modern times, and it was the event that put Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the father of the Turks) to the fore as an extremely shrewd commander, who later founded the modern Turkish Republic. Ataturk is still revered by the Turks in a way that’s difficult for us to understand. Every single house and shop has a picture of him. Every village and town has his statue, and an Ataturk street.
The Turks highly respected the ANZACS who fought so bravely and Ataturk penned this famous tribute in 1934:
“To us there us no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets … You, the mothers, who sent your sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom … after losing their lives in this land they have become our sons as well”.

We had a great time back in and around the town of Ayvalik, and nearby village of Alibey, until it was time to farewell our daughter back to London, and Sharon & Doug back to Auckland.

Sharon & Doug, Laurie & Amy in Alibey



On Sharon & Doug’s final night we had dinner ashore, but had difficulty finding a restaurant as it was the public holiday of Ramazan Bayramy -there was a carnival atmosphere and everywhere was full. At one place three musicians were playing traditional Turkish music quiet loudly, and there were several empty tables. We sat down at one, but after a few minutes decided that the music, discordant to our ears, wasn’t for us and moved on to another quieter place, that turned out to be one of the best restaurants we’d been to in Turkey.

Laurie takes Sharon & Doug ashore at Ayvalik to catch the bus to Istanbul



By ourselves again we’re gradually heading southwards.
TECHNICAL
Nothing to report for a change
LOG (to 1/9/11) 121 days aboard since leaving Marmaris, 1,626NM cruised for 333 engine hours.