Tag: Anzac Day

  • Why does Turkey allow ANZAC day celebrations?

    Why does Turkey allow ANZAC day celebrations?

    Why does Turkey allow Australians to celebrate ANZAC day on its territory?

    Here is what the commander of the Turkish forces at Galipoli had to say about the fallen ANZACS;

    “Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours … You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”

    Pretty sure that answers your question.

    Mark Peacock
    Studied at Murdoch University

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    Australians are being warned of the possibility of terror attacks in Turkey as Anzac Day approaches. File image. Source: AFP
  • PEACE LOOKS LIKE THIS

    PEACE LOOKS LIKE THIS

    Peter FitzSimons
    Peter FitzSimons

    When the actual Lone Pine service finishes in the early afternoon of Anzac Day, the problem for so many Australian attendees, who haven’t slept for the previous 36 hours is that it takes as long as – and I’m not making this up – EIGHT HOURS for the jam of buses to clear. Finally, though, most of the last lot get to the wharves where a ferry awaits to take them across the straits of the Dardanelles to Cannakale. They’re all, not to put too fine a point on it, buggered, and slump in their seats. At least most of them do. Not, however, the Barker Choir and Band, some 200 strong. Even as the ferry waits for the last stragglers to arrive, the young’uns assemble on the foredeck and start to sing and play. Oh, how they sing and play. The ethereal harmonies of Waltzing Matilda, Run To You, Nearer My God To Thee, the Australian and New Zealand National anthems rise rich and beautiful into the Turkish twilight, as even the passengers on other ferries come out to watch on their verandas. They clap, they join in, some dance ‘neath the diamond sky, with one handwaving free, silhouetted by the sea. And now, the final touch. As the last stragglers arrive and the Turkish guides who have been so good to them all start to wave goodbye and walk to the bus that is to take them back to Istanbul, the Barker choir instantly switches into a fabulous rendition of the Turkish national anthem. The guides stop, the wharf workers and security guards stare open-mouthed, the police and soldiers snap to attention. At the end, the Turks, the Australians and New Zealanders all together – 100 years on to the day since the beginning of the devastating battle that killed over 100,000 of our citizens – cheer and clap wildly.

    Peace between our fine nations. It looks like this.

    smh.com.au, May 3, 2015

    Here is a footage from the occasion

  • Turkey: Following the Anzacs

    Turkey: Following the Anzacs

    Turkey puts $60 million into multimedia encounter, writes Russell Maclennan-Jones

    Turkish World War I memorial at Canakkale near Gallipoli, Turkey. Photo / Supplied

    People on this side of the world have a clear picture of Gallipoli: mateship, valour, sacrifice in a small campaign that we lost on the way to winning World War I. It’s far more complicated for Turkish people. They won the campaign at the cost of many lives and saved their country, but went on to lose the war.

    They lost an empire, too, but from its ashes rose modern Turkey, a prosperous, fairly stable country linking Europe to the Middle East.

    A new centre near the battlefields of a century ago makes it easier for visitors to get a Turkish perspective. Allied victory there, and greatly increased support for Russia through the Bosphorus, could have ended the war swiftly and even altered the Russian revolution.

    The Turks have spent nearly $60 million on the Canakkale Epic Promotion Centre and epic is the right word. It’s history as entertainment and a vivid celebration of the men who defeated the invading Anzacs, British and other Allies, in 1915.

    Conceived as a multimedia extravaganza, with actors bringing many scenes to life in film segments, the building has an ambitious flowing scheme to cope with big crowds moving from one multimedia experience to another.

    No media trick is forgone, from the 3D thrill of being shelled by a battleship to hand-to-hand battles in the trenches on the peninsula. It gets pretty confusing and is very noisy. Headphones provide an English translation, which can be a bit hard to follow.

    anzacs and ottoman turks
    The Ottoman veteran Adil Şahin and the Australian veteran Len Hall met as friends in Gallipoli in 1990, 75 years after they fought as enemies in the same place.

    Generations of Kiwis mark the battle’s start on April 25, Anzac Day, but the Turks celebrate March 18, when they routed Allied navies, a defeat that led to the invasion attempt, and this naval battle takes up a lot of the experience.

    Guides lead the 30 or so people in each group from room to room. At one point you’re on the heaving deck of a battleship, at another you feel as though you are in the middle of the fighting.

    Some of the acting is unconvincing (British Navy types discussing tactics, all in Turkish, of course), but the ordinary soldiers bring some of the scenes to life. Facts, figures and statistics are sparing. It’s more a matter of the feeling that the homeland was under threat and brave soldiers stood up when it mattered.

    Allied soldiers are shown being shot down on the beach, and the ruse of guns left to fire themselves as the Anzacs withdrew is depicted in detail. But between those two events little is shown of the Allied effort or of how the soldiers scraped an existence on the unfriendly hills.

    After the high-tech experience I hope schoolchildren are taken up the hill to where their forefathers fought ferocious battles. The graves there show how many people died in what was a fruitless campaign.

    Because the centre is new, tour groups may not have incorporated visits yet. The best way to get there is to take a taxi from Eceabat. Buses are infrequent. If you can spend two or three days in Eceabat or Canakkale do visit the centre and take a guided tour of the battlefields. To avoid crowds go at dawn or sunset and ask a taxi driver to show you the landing places and cemeteries.

    CHECKLIST

    Getting there: Emirates flies daily from Auckland to Dubai with a connection there to its flight to Istanbul. fares are currently available from $2,497 return.

    By Russell Maclennan-Jones

    Watch: Anzac Day weather forecast

    VIDEO Anzac Day weather forecast (2:56)

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    4. Veterans revisit ‘end of beginning’

    Related Tags

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  • Anzac Day terror warning for Australians travelling to Turkey

    Anzac Day terror warning for Australians travelling to Turkey

    AUSTRALIANS attending Gallipoli’s Anzac Day dawn service are being warned of the possibility of a terrorist attack in the country.

    Visitors making the April 25 pilgrimage are being told to “exercise a high degree of caution in Turkey because of the high threat of terrorist attack”.

    The warnings, contained in the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Smartraveller bulletin for Turkeyand Anzac travellers, ask people to be aware terrorists are constantly active in the country.

    The latest attack was in February when a suicide bomber targeted the US Embassy in Ankara, killing himself and a security guard and injuring others.

    Australians are being warned of the possibility of terror attacks in Turkey as Anzac Day approaches. File image. Source: AFP
    Australians are being warned of the possibility of terror attacks in Turkey as Anzac Day approaches. File image. Source: AFP

    The Turkish Government has warned the group claiming responsibility is planning further attacks.

    There have been nine notable events since 2010, and Australian Amanda Rigg, 22, was killed when a suicide bomber hit an Istanbul police station in 2001.

    “Terrorist attacks can occur anywhere at any time in Turkey,” the travel advice says.

    “In recent years, terrorist attacks have occurred in tourist areas and locations frequented by foreigners.

    “Foreigners have been killed and injured.”

    Terrorism expert Professor Clive Williams, from the Australian National University, said Australian tourists were not usually targets but the advice was sensible.

    Travellers risked being caught in “the wrong place”, as Ms Rigg had been, he said.

    “She was not targeted, she just happened to be where a bomb went off,” Professor Williams said.

    “In Turkey, the main target is the government and then second is the United States and then third is the UK.

    “You just need to be careful where you go and what you do in Turkey.”

    Travellers should avoid government offices, embassies and consulates, be wary in busy areas like transport hubs and exercise particular care around significant local dates, like May Day on May 1.

    Those considering travelling to areas bordering with Syria, Iraq and Iran are told to reconsider their need to travel.

  • Gallipoli – Why we cross the world for Anzac Day

    Gallipoli – Why we cross the world for Anzac Day

    Dave O’Neill joins the thousands of Aussies and Kiwis in Gallipoli to commemorate Anzac Day.

    anzac day gallipoli

    Anzac Day at Gallipoli

    In the last warmth of a setting sun I finally start to understand Anzac Day. Sitting high above the stunning but harsh Turkish coastline staring out at the beautiful Aegean Sea, the feeling that I thought would be instantaneous at last arrives, sending shivers down my spine, chilling me to the bone.

    Also see: Anzac Day guide on Australian Times and Anzac Day in London

    I, like so many of the thousands that have gathered a few kilometres away at North Beach, have crossed the world to experience Anzac Day at Gallipoli, a place we hold so very dear to our hearts and an increasingly popular destination for young Australian and New Zealand travellers.

    Most have arrived on the peninsular via bus from Istanbul, joining one of the countless tours that operate to service the Australians and New Zealanders that have made the pilgrimage.

    Though Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey, it is the centre of almost everything that happens in the country. It is an amazing blend of cultures: a melting pot of history and religion that rushes at you from the moment you arrive.

    Its position, which lies on the border of Europe and Asia, ensures that it is also a place of immense contradiction. A kind of organised chaos engulfs the majority of the city, as taxis, buses and a never-ending mass of people stream past at a million miles an hour. I couldn’t help but feel uneasy at times as my steps often seemed hurried, almost as if I slowed for one second I’d be swallowed by a monster I never actually saw.

    The Sultanahmet area, which is the tourist hub, is in great contrast to this. The old town, although lively in the nights leading up to Anzac day, is for the most part a relaxed, almost timeless place, defined by its cobbled stone streets and weathered historic buildings.

    Though the days flew by swiftly, the nights were increasingly long as the roof top bars filled with Australians and Kiwis about to embark on their Anzac adventure. With so many keen to meet their countrymen and women and sample a few of the Turkish beers, friendliness filled the air like I’ve rarely felt before.

    The party atmosphere has well and truly dissipated by the time the masses converge on the Gallipoli peninsular. The feeling, although still light-hearted, is one of resounding respect and before dawn arrives on the 25th and brings with it the most haunting silence you will ever hear, the number of visitors to this sacred site would swell to almost fifteen thousand.

    Either bunkered down on the hill side that gently slopes towards the ocean or rugged up in the grandstands that have been purposely built to cope with the numbers, the hoard of proud unknowns will cram into any space they can find and put up with almost freezing temperatures; yet almost no one will complain.

    It would be, to use that tired old cliché, ‘un-Australian’ to complain amidst the back drop of these soaring hills, the same hills that denied our troops 92 years ago.

    Read more: A Gallipoli Anzac Day pilgrimage

    Staring up at the rugged ridges from the beach, two monuments dominate the skyline. To the left and high above on what is known as the third ridge, is Chunuk Bair, the Kiwi monument which was built to pay tribute to the thousands of New Zealanders who lost their lives on the peninsula. The Kiwi troops who took this incredibly important post were amongst the only soldiers at Gallipoli to see the Dardanelles; the objective of the land invasions. Their monumental victory was brought undone only a day later when after they were relieved by supporting New Army Troops from England and the Turks were able to seize back the advantage.

    To the right is Lone Pine, where as Australians we hang our hat. In the eight months our troops spent clinging to the cliffs it was the only strategic position won and held by the allied forces at Anzac. The area which is approximately the size of two tennis courts was the scene for one of the bloodiest battles of the entire campaign. Hundreds on both sides were killed, many from hand to hand combat and by bombs that were thrown from enemy trenches just mere metres apart.

    Such was the bravery displayed by soldiers who for three days refused to withdraw and eventually held the crucial ground, that no less than seven Australian troops were awarded the Victorian Cross medal; the highest military honour.

    The monument at Lone Pine cemetery represents not just those who fell on the tiny piece of land; that now almost feels like Australian soil, but all those who fought and died on this far away shore.

    Just below and where I sat on that sunny April afternoon on the eve of Anzac Day is Shell Green Cemetery. This stunning clearing lined with lush green grass and flowers in full bloom sits amongst the harsh ridges and steep impenetrable cliffs that define Gallipoli. Until I reached this tiny plateau the feeling that I had expected, the overwhelming emotion I craved from this patriotic journey, had so far eluded me and the connection seemed almost forced. But in the solitude and silence I found at Shell Green Cem I discovered something I pray I’ll never forget.

    For reasons I can’t exactly recall I decided to tag along as two mates, two good souls I’d met less than a week earlier, headed for the cemetery to locate a grave of an ancestor. We left the masses relaxing just a stone’s throw from where the troops came ashore on that fateful day in 1915 and headed up Artillery Track which winds towards Lone Pine at the top of the ridge.

    Read more: Turkey delights

    We found Shell Green Cem deserted and the three of us strolled through the graves reading the names and messages on the head stones. We lingered in silence breathing in the history that seemed to hang heavy in the air. Shivers rippled through me as did the haunting breeze that tore across the cliff tops. Then without warning the grey clouds that had settled in my mind gave way and I, for the first time I understood why this journey has become so important. For everything I love about my country, has its origins right here: the camaraderie, the mateship, and the spirit so uniquely Australian was forged on this far away land and still flows through our veins today.

    The thousands that now converge come not to mourn the loss of a generation, but to remember, with banter and respect, those that fought under the banner of Anzacs. These brave young men may have paid the ultimate sacrifice for a futile cause, but in doing so, heralded the birth of a nation.

    Lest we forget.