As an Australian I thought I understood much of the significance of this site but this visit brought home to me the geography of the peninsula, it’s location between the Aegean Sea and the Dardanelles strait, and also the hills and ridges that were the objectives of the landing parties. I hadn’t previously known about the connection with Ataturk and I was interested in hearing about Turkey’s entrance into World War I from a Turkish perspective. We were on a Trafalgar bus tour through Turkey and our stops of Anzac Cove, Lone Pine Cemetery and Conkbayırı were punctuated by heavy rain. The Conkbayiri site is the most extensive with Turkish and New Zealand monuments, remainders of trenches and views across the coastline. There was also a toilet at Conkbayırı. I don't usually prioritize seeing battlefields or war cemeteries so I found our short stops sufficient. Travelling on the Peninsula was interesting as it included some roads right on the coast, going through some extensive tunnels and, then to get to Asian Turkey, travelling over the new bridge to Canakkale which is the largest suspension bridge in the world at 2023 metres.

This was one of the bucket list destinations we had been wanting to do for some time. We stayed in Canakkale and caught the car ferry over which was easy and quick. Whilst it was wet from the storm the previous evening the weather remained cool but fine. Having downloaded the walk from the Australian War Memorial Anzac Portal we spent the day visiting the significant sites and walking. It is a place for quiet reflection and we were fortunate to have most of the sites to ourselves. The walk up to Plugges plateau and to Lone Pine was probably the best decision we made- whilst a little step to begin the view from the top was amazing. The return loop took us past trenches etc and provided further insight to the conditions these young men endured. Anzac Cove is a beautiful place and much smaller than we expected. The surrounding terrain brought home how difficult it must have been for the Anzacs landing her and encountering the sand hills. Shrapnel Valley was also a stark reminder of the terrible conditions and carnage this area saw. Our one regret was not being able to visit the beautiful Turkish memorial as there were 26 bus loads of women and children here for a memorial.

Moving Park at the tip of the peninsular. A one way system leads to a large car park. The free to enter and very popular and rightly so with tour parties and other visitors. Monument to the fallen in a setting by the sea brings home the horror of events over a hundred years ago. Plenty of places to sit for quiet contemplation. I believe there is also a small mosque on site. Definitely a must see in this area.

Very moving national park. It is huge and to give it justice spend a whole day here. Our tour spent about 2 hours and it wasn't enough time to see everything. A ceremony was coming up mid April and the place was being set up with a stage and seating.