Gallipoli and Troy, Turkey

Troy ruins

Trusty old "Hassle Free" was the tour company that took us from Istanbul to Gallipoli and back again. All within 48 hours. We were picked up by the bus from our hotel at 6.30am and arrived in Gallipoli around 12.30pm that same day. We did the five-hour Gallipoli tour that afternoon and saw all of the memorials of the Kiwi's and Australians, as well as the Turks. All very sad... The most surprising thing to learn was that the ANZAC's were only 8m from the Turks when they were fighting... never realised they were so close for so many months of fighting.

We stayed at the Anzac House (budget hostel) in Cannakle that night, and then did the Troy tour the following morning. Saw the big Trojan horse early on and then walked around the ruins... Simon loved the tour guide for this as we was an economist but a tour guide as a hobby. Instant respect for the economist!

Later that day we drove back to Istanbul. Because I was getting car sick by this stage, I was up the front in the jump seat hanging out with the driver. Although because he couldn't speak any English and I couldn't speak Turkish, there wasn't much conversation going on... I think Simon was loving the extra space back there and didn't even notice I was gone. As soon as the sun went down, our tour guide came to the front of the bus and started feasting with the driver. I asked our tour guide what was going on, and he explained that it's Ramadan. So, all the Muslim's don't eat or drink (anything) during sunlight hours, so when the sun does go down, they are well up for some water and food. Never seen anyone so excited about a packet of biscuits. We now realised why the majority of Turks were a little agitated during the day and staring at us when we were eating or drinking... ummm.