Trip checklist

•  Accommodation – 3 nights 3 star hotel in Istanbul, 1 night in the open at the dawn service area of ANZAC Cove.
• o   Transport – Airconditioned non smoking luxury coach. 
• o   Entrance fees as mentioned as part of the itinerary. 
• o   Services of professional English speaking guides or local representatives.
• o   Meals as listed in the itinerary (B – Breakfast, L – Lunch, D – Dinner).
• o   ANZAC documentary shown while en route to Gallipoli.

Day 1, Thursday 22^nd April – ISTANBUL – Arrive Istanbul and check into our hotel. We can arrange an arrival transfer for you, please check our Arrival Transfer page on the website.

Day 2, Friday 23^rd April – ISTANBUL CITY TOUR – This morning we will depart the hotel at 8.30 and take in the highlights of this most amazing city. We will include professional guided tours of Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and Hagia Sofia. The afternoon is free and you might like to enjoy an exciting optional cruise along one of the world’s most beautiful waterways the Bosphorous. Or just take the time to wander the streets of what is the European Capital of Culture for 2010. Tonight we will meet our fellow travellers joining us for the ANZAC Day commemorative services. Or even take in an optional Turkish Folklore Show. (B)

Day 3, Friday 24th April – GALLIPOLI ANZAC AREA - We will depart Istanbul at 07.00 the journey takes about 4 and ½ hours and we’ll have a refreshment stop about halfway to Gallipoli. En route to Gallipoli we will have the opportunity to watch a historical documentary on the Gallipoli campaign. Our first stop will be 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.

After our tour we’ll make our way to nearby Eceabat where we will enjoy an optional ANZAC Barbeque and buffet dinner (please let your guide/rep know if you won’t be participating) Around 9.30 this evening we will make our way to the ANZAC Peace Park where the Dawn Service will be held next morning, there we will find our seats and wait for the dawn. (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. Please read our “Packing list” as the weather can be very cold and wet this time of the year.

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 the south of the peninsula to the Mehmetcik Memorial for the Turkish service and then finally to Chunuk Bair for the New Zealand memorial service. Around 3.00 pm we’ll leave the site and head back to Istanbul. Tonight is our last night together and our last opportunity to reflect on our experiences. (BL)

Day 4, 26^th April – ISTANBUL – Tour ends after breakfast and we need to check out of the hotel before 12 noon. If you need any arrangements made for your onward travels the staff at Road Runner will be on hand to assist you. We hope you had a wonderful and moving experience and we look forward to seeing you again in the future. (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.