Trip checklist

• Transport by air conditioned coach.
• Fully guided tours of the Gallipoli battlefield and the historic site of Troy.
• Services of professional guide and local representatives.
• Accommodation – 2 nights accommodation in Canakkale, 1 night in the open at the dawn service area of ANZAC Cove.
• Meals – As per itinerary (B – Breakfast, L – Lunch, D – Dinner).
• Entrance fees as mentioned as part of the itinerary.
• Video presentations

Day  1, Friday 23^rd April – ISTANBUL – GALLIPOLI – CANAKKALE – Make your way to our meeting point outside Aya  Sofia in Sultan Ahmet. Please be there no later than 07.30. You’ll be met by your rep for the journey and meet your fellow travellers. We will depart Istanbul at 08.00 the journey takes about 4 and ½ hours and we’ll have a refreshment stop about halfway to Gallipoli.  We’ll enjoy a boxed lunch once we’ve arrived at the Kabatepe Museum, the gateway to the ANZAC memorial area. After the museum we’ll take a visit to the sombre and moving reminders of this tragic battlefield.

We will visit……

• Brighton Beach
• Ari burnu and ANZAC Cove cemeteries
• Lone Pine Australian memorial and cemetery
• Visit some original tunnels and trenches at Johnston’s Jolly
• The infamous Nek cemetery
• The Chunuk Bair Ataturk memorial and the New Zealand memorial and cemetery.

We’ll have time to reflect on our experience as we drive back to Eceabat and check into our hotel for the evening. Tonight we’ll have a special treat, the opportunity to watch the famous Four Corners ABC documentary “The Fatal Shore”, followed by the Mel Gibson classic movie “Gallipoli”. Overnight in Canakkale. (L)

Day 2, Saturday 24^th April – TROY – GALLIPOLI – Early start today as we depart for our fully guided tour of the legendary city of Troy. As we travel from Canakkale we will be enthralled by the unfolding saga of omens, prophesies, gods, goddesses, great battles, heroic figures, facts and fiction. The excavations have been going on for over a century since the site was rediscovered by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann who not only discovered the site but also found the famous “Treasures of Priam”, now  languishing in a Berlin museum. In the afternoon we’ll return to Canakkale and our hotel. You can rest for the big night ahead or wander the town and enjoy the local hospitality and interact with the friendly locals. This evening around 11.00 we’ll take the ferry back across to Eceabat and prepare ourselves for the next morning and the Dawn Service. Overnight in the vicinity of the dawn service. (B)

Day 3, Sunday 25^th April – ANZAC COVE GALLIPOLI – It’s time to prepare yourself for one of the most solemn and moving moments of your life. You’ve already visited the sites and cemeteries now it’s time to visit the emotions that this site brings out in most Australians, New Zealanders, Brits and indeed Turks. The Gallipoli campaign proved to be the defining moment for three national identities. Because of the events that began at dawn on 25^th April 1915 Australians, Kiwis and Turks all became masters of their own national destinies.

The Dawn Service

Around 4.30 in the morning around the same time 95 years previously that troops were being rowed ashore the Dawn Service will begin. There will be musicians, poets and a lot of rugged up people waiting for the sun’s first rays. A lone piper or bugler will appear on the hills behind and beckon the dawn. Politicians will speak about the horrors of war and how “No longer will our sons be made to fight in foreign wars and be the cannon fodder for imperial nations”. We shall all embrace each other as one nation of pilgrims from all our corners of the globe and we will remember those that came before and those who met them on this “Fatal Shore”.

Following the Dawn Service there will be a mass exodus up to the Australian memorial at Lone Pine cemetery. As the sun warms us we will gather for national anthems and stories of sadness and glory. After the Australian service we head to Chunuk Bair for the New Zealand memorial service. Once finished we will enjoy lunch at the Maydos restaurant in the sleepy seaside town of Eceabat before returning to our hotel across the Dardanelles in Canakkale. Rest of the day is free for you to catch up on sleep or maybe try your hand at an ANZAC tradition, a game of “Two up” (BL)

Day 4, ISTANBUL – Today we make the journey back to Istanbul and drop you in the Sultan Ahmet area. If you need any other assistance in your onward travels our staff at Road Runner Travel will be on hand to assist you. We hope you enjoyed your journey and we look forward to seeing you again. (B)

Packing list and things to remember………..

• The weather in April in Turkey can be very cold overnight so you will need a sleeping bag, warm clothes, comfortable and sturdy footwear, wet weather gear and a torch for the dawn service. A  hat to hold over your heart and a good supply of tissues.
• Tipping  – This isn’t included in the price but is certainly a part of everyday life in Turkey’s service industry. This is of course at your discretion. If you feel our staff deserve a little something for their great efforts they will be more than appreciative.
• Visiting mosques – Please dress respectfully and cover your shoulders and feet. Please refrain from public displays of affection and speak quietly and respectfully whilst visiting these wonderful monuments.
• Carpet sellers and the like – Turkey is famous for its home made carpets and selling them is an important part of Turkish life. If you are not interested then just politely refuse with a smile and move on. Being rude or abusive won’t work after all you are just a visitor to their country.