Gallipoli Ceremonies - End Of Turkey Trip

So it was an early start this morning. The bus departed Istanbul at 0630hrs. It was a 3 hour 30 minute bus ride to the peninsular. About 10km out the bus was stopped and all passes were checked and validated. We were given a bus number for the trip home. From there we headed to the town of Eceabat for lunch. Security was tight even here many km from the commemorative sites. We had originally planned to do some tours around the various sites in the area, but (predictably) they were all closed off for VIP tours. I saw later that John Key and Tony Abbot + hangers on had been touring the sites. So away from there after lunch to head to the site proper. Another screening checkpoint and we were dropped by our bus at a holding area about 3km out from ANZAC Cove. Everyone was held here until authorisation was given to go down to ANZAC Cove starting at about 4;30pm. You could walk the 3km down of go in a shuttle bus. Being there quite early and being bus number 45 (of about 300) was helpful. So were were down at the site After passing through more security) by about 5pm with plenty of choice in seating. So we settled in to some good grandstand seats and the long wait began for the dawn service starting at 0530hrs. From 7:30pm on the 24th the big screen started showing entertainment and the military band played a few items. The temperature keep dropping, but we had been well warned about this and had plenty of warm clothing on hand. It was actually quite nice to be there knowing something really special was coming up. At one stage during the night a couple of historians came on the stage and lit up various parts of the peninsula talking of the events that happened there. At the end of a special night, the dawn service started. It was all over in just over an hour. It was great to be there, and the emotion really struck home when the national anthem was played and one realised just how lucky we were to be there for this special moment in this special place. So after the service it was the walk/shuttle up to Chunuk Bair about 6km all uphill to another holding area. This area was right beside the Chunuk Bair memorial itself. Before and between the Australia Ceremony (starting at 1100) and the NZ Ceremony at Chunuk Bair (starting at 1345) there were Turkish remembrance services. Both Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair are important sites for the Turks, in fact Ataturk was wounded at Chunuk Bair (he was saved by his cigarette case). So the Chunuk Bair site was being visited by a whole army of Turkish Scouts. There must have been thousand and thousands of them. Like at home, it was great to see these events being participated in by the younger generations. At about midday we are allowed in to the site. Again we lucked in with the seating and got seats right behind the VIP's. We were seated about 30 feet from John Key, Tony Abbott and Prince's Charles and Harry. The service was all finished by 3pm and we were moved back to the holding area to await the busses. How it worked was that the busses travelled up the hill, stopping to load passengers at Lone Pine, then continuing up the hill to Chunuk Bair to load the rest of their passengers. We were told this could be some wait. We are also advised that the busses could be slightly out of order. The first bus number called was 296 - so they weren't kidding there! This was probably the most frustrating part of the trip. The day was over. No sleep for 36 hrs now. And all you could do was wait until your bust number was called. It eventually was - at 6:45pm. So it was an 11pm arrival back at Istanbul for the best of sleeps! It was certainly well worth it to be there for these special occasions.

The information we received on the day was useful. Our passes were scanned several times

 Very empty when we arrived

Starting to fill up after midnight

And chokka just before the Dawn Service

Some of the overnight entertainment

 Security was tight!

 Price Harry did a reading

Price Charles laying a wreath 

Last 2 Days On The Bikes!

The next ride was a shot one to Safranbolu. This Ottoman township is reputed to be the Turkish Delight capital of the world. We stayed at a quaint hotel after again adding to our excess baggage complications for the trip home. The last day on the bikes was a 425km trip back to Istanbul mostly on motorways. It all finished with a nice ferry ride back to the older part of the city where the adventure began. The bikes were checked back in at the hotel for the next trip post Gallipoli. The next day was a ferry ride and trip to the spices Grand Bazaar followed by the final dinner at the Arcadia Blue hotel with magnificent night views of the mosques.

So to summarise the trip. It was fantastic! Some great roads and some real highlights of Turkey. The people here were by far the highlight. Not a huge amount of English spoken generally, but that was made up for  by the warmth of the welcome from start to end and the genuine interest in us and our adventure. The roads were variable, but there are billions of Lira being poured in by the current President in an attempt to increase his rural vote. Massive projects were featured pretty much wherever we rode. One way or the other, this President will be remembered. The food was different and generally nice. Certainly not as spicy as you may think. The scenery and history were awesome and mind blowing.

Now we have joined our next tour and are in full preparation mode for the Gallipoli ceremony. We are so glad we visited in earlier, quieter times. It just wouldn't have been the same otherwise.

Cheers to all, and thanks for following our blog! Hopefully one more update at Singapore if we get time.

Adrian and Aly

 Following The Coastline To Istanbul

 The Turkish Navy On Exercise

The Final Ferry Trip

The Day Of Days

The 350km road from Sinop to Amasra had us following the Black Sea coast. Thousands of corners and gear changes this day. Mike Ferris, who founded the company we are traveling with and travels all around the world leading tour groups, reckons this road is his favourite in the world. That's a pretty good recommendation! We were sent off for the whole day just to enjoy the scenery and road at our own pace. The crews were spectacular and the photos don't really do it justice.

 Lunch Stop - Cide

 Lunch At Cide

 Amasra

 Hotel View

Aly's Homework

The Black Sea Beckons!

Today was a relatively short day (in km not time) to the Black Sea coast. We again travelled over some lovely country roads and ended up at a nice hotel in Sinop. On arrival both of us honoured an earlier pledge to Graeme that we would swim in the colder waters of the Black Sea (as opposed to the warmer waters the soft Aussies chose). We captured the event on video, much to the hilarity of the rest of the group!

 A New Hydro Station

 The Lake and Dam

The View From Our Sinop Hotel

An Early Start

An early start from some today. It was a 6:00 alarm for a balloon trip that was additional cost for those wanting to do it. Aly went, but Adrian wimped out. Aly said it was an amazing site seeing hundreds of balloons in the air over Cappadocia. Then it was breakfast and the start of the journey from Urgut towards Corum, which apparently is the Chickpea capital of the world! On the what, we sopped to visit the next crumbly (historic city) at Hatussas an ancient Hittite City. Today was a day tinged with sadness as Graeme, a popular member of the group, has had to fly home. In 2 weeks we has lost his father in law and sister in law. Our thoughts are very much with him and his family.

A Day Off

Today was a quiet day with a pre lunch visit to some Turkish Baths in the area. It was application of face mask, a sauna, a shower then soap application and rinse. In a first we both went for a 30 minute massage, which left us feeling rather refreshed after so long on the bikes and last night's bar activities! We took a short ride after lunch to check out the valley where the hot air balloons will be travelling tomorrow.

 Interesting Shape Those Stones - Just Saying....

Capadocia Sights

Today was a sightseeing day in the van. We returned to our regroup point yesterday to look at an underground city. Built 4-5 century BC to hide from the Arabs. It was a tight squeeze for come participants, but we all got through OK. The it was on to a group of monasteries and the day rounded off with a visits to a carpet and ceramic factory. In the evening we went to a traditional dance evening where a few member of the group were taken up as participants. The it was back to the hotel for a few biers in the bar until the wee small hours. Thank goodness it is a rest day tomorrow!

Brass Monkey Weather

Today we departed at 8:00am for another 450km day of riding from Kizkalesi to the Cappadocia Region. This meant retracing our steps back to Silifke and then turning inland and (reluctantly) leaving the Mediterranean behind us. We spend most of the day just below the snow line and the weather was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. We reckon it never got above 3 degrees, and it was by far the coldest day we have ever spend on a motorcycle - and that include multiple trips to the Brass Monkey Rally down south. We arrived at the hotel at 6pm pretty cold and tired, but we now have 3 nights here exploring the sights.

 Kizkalesi Hotel and Views

 Mick and Zi

 Brenton and Vicki Going Past

It's A Long Road

A Decent Day's Ride

We left the hotel at Antalya at 8:00am sharp and navigated out way out of the city. It was pretty straight roads until the morning tea break at 10:30am, then off i to the mountains. The road was pretty rough and it was reiterated several times that in Turkey the road centre line markings should be considered a guideline. Several times trucks were encountered on corners 1/2 to 3/4 over in to the opposing lane.We stopped for lunch at Anamur. After lunch the Polis stopped us both. Slightly worried for a while, but it was a stop for road marking which delayed us about 30 minutes. The roads were much better from here, with more great scenery. We Arrived at Kizkalesi at 5:15pm. A long day beckons agin tomorrow with another long day on the bikes (about 450km). Will post photos later - got some great GoPro footage today, but files too large to upload!