Day 15 Saturday 23 May

Breakfast was as woeful as dinner, but at the end of the day we had enough healthy food to start the day. The nicest thing I had was a slice of brown bread with comb honey.

We spent a bit of time last night mapping our day, and had minor anxiety about navigating the infamous Istanbul traffic to drop off the car. We have a week in Istanbul after we drop the car, and carefully planned minimal driving in Istanbul by dropping the one way car hire at the international airport to avoid the city centre. Istanbul is a city of 16 million people and the views of the multiple highway network of roads we saw from the air on our way in were not confidence inspiring.

Our first challenge of the day was to get to a car ferry to take us across the Dardanelles straight to the Gallipoli peninsula. We planned on visiting the memorial at Anzac cove and then driving on to Istanbul – 3 hrs. This meant we had to be up for breakfast at 6:30 and on the road by 7:30. The recommendation was to be at the ferry terminal up to an hour before hand in peak times, as vehicle space is limited. The drive from the hotel to the terminal was about 15 minutes.

A bit of planning and a bit of luck got us to the ferry terminal just in time to drive onto a ferry, verses being there 45 minutes to get on the next one. The day had light rain, so we just sat in the car and enjoyed the short ride of 20 minutes to the other side. The drive to Anzac cove was an easy 15 minutes from there.

We had seen pictures of the memorial and were moved by forgiving and consecrating words of Ataturk. Standing there in the beautiful surrounds, red poppies blooming, and the wind carrying the energy of the past was a very special experience. We had intended a quick visit of about 15 minutes to show our respect, but ended up staying about nearly an hour.

The bay has many coloured pebbles, some a deep red that stood out me. There were beautiful wild flowers of the ‘dune’ area’s including some wild iris and yellow poppies. I spent time wading in the shallows admiring the stones and allowing the palpable energy (genius loci) to speak to me. Apparently the feeling we both got is called ‘Sonder’.

“While walking alone, you likely experienced a flash of sonder—the sudden, vivid realisation that each of those thousands of fallen soldiers had a life as vivid and complex as your own, with their own fears, families, and stories. The peace you felt was the sense that their stories have been honoured, and they are finally resting.”

The clock was ticking, so we moved on for the final leg of this journey. The road between Anzac Cove and Istanbul was very good and mostly highway, with some toll ways. The land was more green and had rolling hills. We even saw sheep and cows grazing freely in the fields, which is a first. Mostly they have been in yards, and we presume taken feed, and taken out for feed.

Again we stopped on the edge of a town to have some lunch at a local place and were not disappointed. Most available foods are grills – and this establishment took pride in showing the fresh meat hygienically in chiller cabinets, so you could see the quality. A food we have not got into yet is the stuffed intestines, as we both do not enjoy tripe. We did try something different here, a ‘sheep’s head and food’ soup, which was on enquiry sheep’s head and tongue, served with a side of garlic in vinegar. It was delicate and delicious.

I am very pleased to report that the return of the car went like German clockwork – to the minute and without a scratch. Whew. We then caught a bus from outside the terminal to the city, and a 2.km walk up a steady slope we were at our hotel, the Movinpick old town. The airport is about 50 minutes drive from the city, so it has been a big couple of days travel. Again, the reality of the size of Turkey is being consolidated.

After settling in we walked around the corner and up a small block to a local street which has genuine old fashioned butchers and markets along it. Fabulous atmosphere and little English spoken – perfect. We have found a little authentic oasis (probably not the right word) in this crazy big impersonal city.

Our meal was a bit of an adventure, but very nice. Lots of generous mezze first, and insisted on free tea, baklava, and fruit at the end. Next door a stall tenderer sat and peeled veges with a knife before starting to cook them over a small gas flame. He caught us looking and I gave the approval of his work to his colleagues amusement. People work long and hard here to make a living, we feel very privileged.