Turkey Day 3 & 4: Gallipoli and Troy

Early on the Saturday morning we catch a 5 hour bus down to Ecebat. From here we take a 5 hour Gallipoli tour. It was a big day but our guide was an ex school professor from the uk with a well rehearsed and riveting depiction of the events. It was impossible not to be moved and my respect and knowledge of the ANZAC has been reaffirrmed. It was also obvious that this battle is a heroic and historic victory for the Turks with the huge crowds of locals who come to learn and pay respect.

View of the landing sites

Lone Pine

Day two we visited Troy. I'm told that if I have read Homer's Iliad that this place would have more magical significance, however it was still an interesting historical site with a series of rebuilds throughout history still evident in the few remaining stone walls and structures. We met a few more Aussies here as you would expect and met one girl who had just finished three months in South Africa!

Crappy Troy horse fun for the kids only - thats me in bottom left window

Troy City walls

We opted for an earlier bus back to Istanbul which gave us some more time in this fascinatng City. When we returned to our Hotel to find that Goksel had moved us to their second hotel with sea views a 5 minute walk away. He assured us we were getting excellent value as our room rate was €69. We watched the sun set on our balcony before heading to a local restuarant for our best meal. If you're in the old town area of Istanbul get the chefs special at the (still looking for this restaurants name) . Awesome.

The next morning we visited the grand bazaar and the Cistern. The cistern is a massive and impressive underground reservior which you can walk through along dimly lit walkways. Its erie but enchanting. This was our last stop before we headed for our flight to Cappadokya.

Sun sets on Istanbul ( from our hotel balcony)

The massive underground Cistern

Ok so we found some spices