My last visit to Turkey was in 1978, where as a twenty year old, I drove through in a BMW 2002 on the way to Iran. (If we ever meet, buy me a beer and I’ll tell you that story!) I remember it as a pretty poor and simple country, where shepherds tended their sheep and goats just outside the old walls of the former Constantinople. I also remember getting mugged on top of that wall! So not everything about it was good.
Now of course it’s a very different place. After crossing the border from Greece (and after paying the €50 visa fee required of Australians), I headed toward Eceabat, the nearest town to the battlefields of Gallipoli.
Gallipoli was a disastrous battle of WWI, orchestrated by Churchill in an attempt to control the Gallipoli Peninsula. The invasion involved thousands of British, French, Australian and New Zealand troops, using poor maps and intelligence, and not trained or equipped for the very difficult conditions they faced. The Turks on the other hand knew the terrain, held the high ground, were well trained, and motivated to defend their homeland.
All Australians are taught the legend of the ANZACS from primary school onwards. Australia was a young country in 1915, and the battles of Gallipoli mark the birth of a national consciousness, when we became Australians rather than merely British subjects.
The centenary of the battle was celebrated on April 25th, 2015, and I arrived at sunset on the 26th. The crowds had gone and I found a track that led me to a nice camp site in the forest. It’s still a pretty wild place, with the steep slopes, deep gullies and thick scrub that made life so miserable for the troops there. However I found a great camp spot in a pine forest about a kilometre off the road, on a bluff overlooking the bay, with Anzac Cove (where the Australians were based) in the distance.
Leaving the next morning I noticed something that I’d missed coming in at dusk the night before. The undulations I was riding over were not natural, but overgrown and collapsed trenches and craters. I remembered a quote from somebody in a documentary I saw- “this whole place is a graveyard” – I was sleeping with the ghosts… They still regularly dig up bones and artifacts here.
Istanbul was as spectacular as I remember, but not as grungy! One example – there’s a restaurant near the Blue Mosque, called “The Pudding Shop”. When I passed though in the 70’s this was a meeting place for travellers on the “hippie trail” to the far east, and a place to buy drugs from local suppliers. An atmospheric place, smoky and grimy but with great food. It’s still there, but now it’s a spotless tourist restaurant. I went for lunch, and the owner was there – the same owner from the 70’s. I told him I’d been there way back then, and he bought me lunch. Great guy!
Some of the terrain in the Anatolia region is absolutely gorgeous. My friend Tugral suggested I take a ride down Taş Yolu “Stone Road” in central Turkey. Spectacular, and rated as one of Turkey’s most dangerous roads. Even better!
From there I headed to region of Cappadocia, with its unusual geology, underground houses and long and varied history, it is a must-see place in Turkey.
There is so much natural beauty and history and great riding in Turkey, the biggest problem is deciding what you want to see.
