Visting Gallopoli

In September I led my first tour of the Gallipoli Battlefields. It was with a small group, but it turned out to be a wonderful success. My parent company Valor Tours of California found an outstanding local company, named Flo-Turkey, to handle our local arrangement. Valor Tours wants to run the same program next September, but needs eight passengers to make it viable. Email me if you are interested in more information about our 2010 Gallipoli Tour (email)

Your Editor at the entrance to the Dardanelles, 27 September 2009. I'm Standing on the Asian Side, not far from the ruins of Troy. Is the distance is Cape Helles.

Full-sized replica of the most celebrated ship in Turkish history, The minelayer Nusret, at the Naval Museum, Çanakkale. This ship laid the string of mines that sank three battleships on March 18, 1915. The Turkish perspective is that the defeat of the Allied naval assault doomed the entire invasion, and the subsequent land campaign never had a chance of succeeding.

Two of the tour members, David and Mike, at the Naval Museum, which is located at the Dardanelles "Narrows". These are the types of mines that sank the battleships. The ships went down immediately behind the guys.

V Beach: the best known of the five landing sites at Cape Helles on April 25, 1915 viewed from a Turkish defensive post. The exit floats of the ill-fated SS River Clyde and the few men who made it ashore were subject to withering enfilade fire from this position all day long.

W Beach: Our Boat is is just behind the remains of one of the piers built to supply the troops at Helles after the initial landing. This site is also known as "Lancashire Landing" in honor of the six VCs awarded for service "before breakfast" by members of the Lancashire Fusiliers.

At Anzac we met a group of students and their teachers from Sydney. They had also visited the Western Front. The signs are quite evocative. Plugge's Plateau (behind the group) was the site of one of the first struggles of the campaign and Shrapnel Valley would be the essential communications and rogistical route for the Anzac Front.

On the high ridge between Lone Pine and the high peaks of Sari Bair the front line at Anzac stabilized, and things around there Have a "Western Front" Look. This is an Australian Trench and Tunnel Entrance before Johnston's Jolly.

View from Walker's Ridge. This was close to the left glank of the Anzacs in the early campaign. Below can be seen Anzac Cove, and behind the photographer is the Nek, locale of the battle depicted in the film Gallipoli.

This yellow house in the village of Bigali was Mustafa Kemal's headquarters during the Gallipoli campaign. There are numerous monuments and informational fisplays (like the insert) across the Gallipoli Peninsula and at Çanakkale extolling his contributions.

Two group shots: off of North Beach-Anzac (L) and at the Turkish Memorial, Cape Helles (R). On the Anzac photo, the "Sphinx" is conspicuous: Our excellent guide Koray Çirik is on the left and Flo-Turkey public relations Rep and executive trainee Sibel Gezer is the Lady in Pink. Sibel was a hit with the troops. David, Fred, Myself and Mike are at the memorial on the right side image.