Itinerary - ANZAC Day Tour 2006 (5 Days)
This tour has been designed to give you a greater understanding of the events that led up to the decision to land Allied forces at Gallipoli and to enable you to see firsthand the significant battlegrounds of the campaign.
The tour leader, William Willis, is an Australian who lived in Turkey for several years working first with the Turkish Government, then as manager of a Turkish tour company. Will has visited Gallipoli many times and led the last four Timeless Anzac groups.
Day 1: 21 April - Istanbul
Arrive at hotel and after lunch transfer to the ferry terminal for an afternoon cruise on the Bosphorus. The focus of the tour will be on the strategic importance of Istanbul, or Constantinople as it was known in 1915, in both World War 1 and over past centuries. Sights will include the Dolmabahce Palace, Rumeli Hisar Castle, Topkapi Palace and other notable buildings dating from the days of the Ottoman Empire.
In the evening we will eat at a local restaurant and discuss the day's tour.
Overnight in Istanbul. (D)
Day 2: 22 April - Istanbul-Gallipoli
After breakfast you are picked up from your Istanbul hotel for the 5 hour coach drive along the European shore of the Sea of Marmara and Dardanelles to Gallipoli. This region featured prominently in the overall strategic decisions of the Gallipoli campaign. After lunch we will cross the Dardanelles at the famous Narrows and visit the city of Canakkale. Our visit will include a tour of the castle and the minelayer Nusrat that played a key role in the naval battle of 18 March 1915.
Overnight in Gallipoli area. (B,L,D)
Day 3: 23 April - Gallipoli Anzac Site
Today we explore in depth the site of the Anzac battlefields. In the morning we will visit the museum of Kaba Tepe, Brighton Beach, Ari Burnu Cemetry, Anzac Cove, Shrapnel Gully, and Plagge's Plateau.
After lunch we will travel to the high ground behind the landing point and visit the site of Kemal Ataturk's field headquarters on the Third Ridge, Chunuk Bayir, the Nek, Quinn's Post, Johnston's Jolly and Lone Pine on the Second Ridge overlooking Anzac Cove.
Overnight in Gallipoli area. (B,L,D)
Day 4: 24 April - Cape Helles and Suvla Bay
Today it is intended to complete the overall view of the Gallipoli Campaign. Our visit will include a stop at the small village of Bigali which was Ataturk's headquarters early in the campaign and drive through the sites where the Turkish army was based and their heavy artillery was positioned. We then drive to Suvla Bay, which was the site of the failed landing by the British New Army in August 1915.
After lunch we travel to the southern end of the peninsula to Cape Helles. Along the way we stop at the fascinating private museum in the village of Achitepe. At Cape Helles we visit the site of Turkish Memorial and the sites of the British and French landings on April 25, 1915.
On the way back to our hotel we will travel along the shores of the Dardanelles for an early night to rest up for the next day.
Overnight in Gallipoli area. (B,L,D)
Day 5: 25 April - Dawn Service-Istanbul
A very early start, travel to Anzac Cove for the Dawn Service. At the conclusion of the Dawn Service we will travel to Lone Pine for the Australian Ceremony.
The order and timing of the respective services vary each year and are decided upon in consultation with the Australian, New Zealand and Turkish Governments. Final arrangements for services are made in late March to early April each year.
(B,L)
As the number of visitors is ever increasing, it is likely that there will be a walk from where the coach stops to the ceremony. Dress warmly and comfortably and take a small torch. A boxed lunch on ANZAC Day is included. We return to Istanbul in the afternoon where the tour concludes.
NOTE:
Older participants in particular should be aware that the walk to the ceremonial site from the coach can be long. The wait for the Dawn Service to commence in the open in cold early morning weather can also be lengthy. Subject to agreement from Turkish authorities, the Office of Australian War Graves plans to transport aged and infirm visitors directly to the Anzac Commemorative Site from the Kabetebe Information Centre by shuttle buses departing half hourly from 11.00pm until 3.00am. If you would like to take advantage of this service, please advise us when booking.
"TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LASTING MEMORY OF 3268 AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT ON GALLIPOLI IN 1915 AND HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVES AND 456 NEW ZEALAND SOLDIERS WHOSE NAMES ARE NOT RECORDED IN OTHER AREAS OF THE PENINSULA BUT WHO FELL IN THE ANZAC AREA AND HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVES AND ALSO OF 960 AUSTRALIANS AND 252 NEW ZEALANDERS WHO FIGHTING ON GALLIPOLI IN 1915 INCURRED MORTAL WOUNDS OR SICKNESS AND FOUND BURIAL AT SEA"