Coconuts to Crampons: Ancient Turkey

There is so much history in Turkey! We travelled down the west coast to visit Galipoli, site of a WW1 battle, and the ancient cities of Troy and Ephesus.

The Galipoli Peninsula was where a very important battle happened during WW1, specifically for the ANZAC (Australian New Zealand Army Corp.) and Turkey. Turkey had sided with Germany in the war. They blocked transport via the Bosphorus straight therefore isolating Russia from the Allies. So in order to take control of the straight, in April 1915 ANZAC troups landed on the west coast of the peninsula with the objective of going over land and destroy the fortifications along the straight. Unfortunately, the battle did not go well for the Allies. They battled for 9 months and in December of 1915 they withdrew after only gaining a few kilometers from their original landing point. The Turks had won. This battle however is what gave Australia and New Zealand, relatively new countries at the time, an identity. We took a tour with Crowded House Tours and our guide was amazing; we learned so much about the military strategies, the obstacles and the battles.

Letter from Turkey's first President to the Allies who fought here.

Site where up to 15 000 Australians and New Zealanders have their annual memorial ceremony. This is the beach where the ANZACs landed.

Australian memorial.

ANZAC bunker.

Turkish memorial.

New Zealand memorial.

Turkish trench.

Everyone, of course, has heard of Troy. This ancient city is believed to have first been established in 3000 BC and eventually was abandoned in around 500 AD. What's left is really just a pile of rubble but with some imagination, and a really good audio guide, the city can come to life. The city was rebuilt nine times because of fires, earthquakes or wars. The most famous war is that described in Homer's Iliad where the Achaeans, who were unable to penetrate the walls of Troy, left a large wooden horse at the gate. The Trojans then brought the horse inside the city walls thinking it was a sign from the Achaeans that they have finally given up. After partying it up, the Achaean warriors jumped out of the horse and killed everyone, taking over the city. During our visit however we found out that this may not have actually happened and it was a fictional entertaining story imagined by Homer. Either way, its hard to dismiss the fact that this was a rich and significant city in its time.

City wall.

Ramp up to aristocrats part of the city.

Terracota water pipes. They were joined together with a mixture of lime and oil.

The bouleuterion (senate house).

Ephesus was a large city established in the 10th century BC and finally abandoned in the 15th century AD; at its peak it had up to 200 000 people! The site here is partially restored so as you walk through the city it is so easy to imagine what it must have looked like. It must have been spectacular! All the roads and buildings were all built of white marble and there is so much carved detail in everything.

Harbour Street; the road leading from the harbour into the city. How visitors normally arrived.

25,000 person odeon.

View of Harbour Street from the top of the odeon.

Gates into the 110m2 market.

Library.

Detail on the library all marble facade.

Library (left) and gate to market (right).

Temple.

Walking down Curates Way.

Uncovered aristocrat homes. Wall are all painted and floors are mosaic.

The living area. Kitchen on the left.

Here was the first time where I felt religion and history collide. I know that the Virgin Mary, Jesus and the Apostles were all real people but I've only ever thought of them in the context of stories in the New Testament. It turns out however that the Virgin Mary and St. John the Apostle came to Ephesus to live and spread Christianity. It was interesting for me to all of a sudden think of them in a historical context. They lived in the city, they had a home, they ate, they probably went to the local market.