Gallipoli Trip (planning Stage)

[Morval Ross]

Hi pals

Yet agian I want to call upon all of your experiance. I want to organise a surprise trip to Gallipoli for my dad next year. But have not got a clue how to organise it. Have many of you been there before and what were youor experiances. My Dad is 73 but is very active and fit (we are just back form the Western Front and now he is off again to the 11/11 parade in Paris). Is the ground heavy going for walking there?

Also where are the best places to stay and eat and to get a round. Information like where is the best place to fly to? best time of the year to visit etc, any advice or guidance will be greatly appreciated pals.

Regards to all,

Ross,

[Guest CGI]

Ross,

Have a look at my Gallipoli site :

http://users.skynet.be/Gallipoli/

There's quite some practical information on how to start planning.

If more info needed, e-mail me.

Jul

[Simmo]

Hi Ross

I went for 5 days in Sept '01 when I realised I had enough airmiles for the round-trip. I flew with BA from Heathrow. From what I remember they flew twice daily and if you book well in advance and go midweek you should get a good price.

rented a car at Istanbul airport. Make sure you pick up the westwards motorway or you'll have to endure an hour of the whacky races on the old ring-road. Try and do the drive in daylight.

A ferry takes you and car across the Dardanelles to Canakkale.

This is the part where the story might be useful to you - I stayed at a hostal called Anzac House, near the ferry terminal. Very basic but very cheap. The staff were great , very friendly and enthusiastic..

Walk out the front door and you're on the main street with loads of places to eat and drink. The hostal ran a daily minibus tour of the peninsula and the guide who I think was called Ali Efe, was outstanding.

They only cover the Anzac area so a couple of days I took the car over to have a good look around.

If you do one thing - make sure you stand in the grounds of the museum at Gaba Tepe and look northwards to the Lone Pine memorial and collect your thoughts.

I'm pretty sure that the bill for the 4 nights was a tenner - things may have changed though. But considering that most of your fellow guests will be Aussies, really the hotel should pay you

Simmo.

[Andrew P]

The first time I went I stayed in Cannakale & the 2nd time I stayed in Eceabat. I prefrred Eceabat as though it's smaller it cut down on the ferry travel time from Cannakale.

Stayed at TJ's. Very basic. I recall in a previous thread about Gallipoli someone mentioned that there is a decent place to stay near Cape Helles.

[Guest bonza]

But considering that most of your fellow guests will be Aussies, really the hotel should pay you

Spose so

They seem to have a knack for finding cheap entertainment.

Pat

[michaeldr]

I recall in a previous thread about Gallipoli someone mentioned that there is a decent place to stay near Cape Helles.

Ross,

I think that this may be the thread which Andrew was thinking about; see

http://1914-1918.org/forum/index.php?showt...=gallipoli+tour

Regards

Michael D.R.

[curranl]

Hello Ross,

You lucky so and so. If you are in the vicinity of the Farm, please pause for a minute to remember "my" men of the 6th Royal Irish Rifles.

Enjoy the trip.

Regards,

Liam.

[Morval Ross]

Hi Liam,

How is the weather across the lake in Tipp. I am only gathering information at the moment to try and put a trip together as a surprise for my dad next year. Hopefully it will happen. We go every year to the Western front but he has mentioned he would ike to see Gallipoli. Looks like around 800 euros per person. Would be worth it though.

If I go I will pay respects to your Lads there, Speaking of the Royal Irish Rifles I have just gotten information from a Distant cousin tht we had a relation witht he Rifles by the name of Mansell. Dont know any further details yet though.

Regards from the Banner county (Ennis and Mountshannon)

Ross

[curranl]

Hello Ross,

You have me mistaken for Museumtom, who is down Thurles way. I am a Banner man like yourself; living outside Ennis and working in Shannon.

By the way, only one Mansell in the RIRs shows up in the MIC - a Sargeant Matthew Mansell, no. 3/1315.

Regards

Liam.

[Morval Ross]

My opologies Liam,

Sorry about that. Where abouts in Ennis,,I am working in Shannon myself, I am with GE Financial Insurance. You may have come across me as I used to work in Brogans on Oconnell Street when I was in college and do the odd night still.

I will Check out for futher information this evening regarding Mansell, will let you know. Funny how we cross paths online.

Regars

Ross.

[bluedog]

Hi Ross

Did all of Simmo's trip in April 2001 and stayed at Anzac House

for 10 days,can recommend it.

Capt. Ali's tours are very good and cover both sides.

If your there April/May 2005, I'll let you buy me a beer

as one Forum member said, us Aussies have a knack

for anything on the cheap

Peter

[southafricawargraves]

Been to Gallipoli twice for a total of 2.5 months.

Last time I was there was Anzac Day 2003.

Stayed at TJ's in Ecebaet. Cheap hostel but may be closed now as he was having trouble keeping it afloat. There was new place opeing just down the street near the town sqaure area near the cannons.

That place was on the cheap as well. But if you are out on the battlefiels all day why do you need five star, when all you need is a bed, a good meal and a beer at the end of the day.

If you decide to stick around for awhile get a long term deal with hostel and hire a car. Avis shop in the town square, ask for it. I walked many a time out to the battlefields though and thumbed a ride.

Turks are great people and real friendly in Ecebaet, frankly in two years of travel Ecebaet was my second favorite place to be, miss it every day. Small town that grows on you.

Good food on the waterfront, again cheap as chips. Get to know the owner and cashier and joke around with them and you'll soon get local prices.

There is a battlefield guide that off the top of my head I can't remeber what it is called "Major So and So's guide to Gallipoli, Second Edition" packed full of great info and maps to the places off the beaten path any Aussie military book dealer should have it.

You can stay at the CWGC cottages (Anzac Cove) for 15 million a night (15 Cdn), call CWGC office in Cannakale and they can set it up for you. Buy groceries for yourself and watch sunset and drink a few beer on Anzac Cove. The head gardener for CWGC Gallipoli lives right behind the 1st cottage and is a source of great tresures he has dug up over the years that he will show you. His name is Ali, his wife's name is...ummmm....Mrs. Ali? Bring her some chocolate. They have a good son as well, real polite, may want to speak a little English with you.

Ohhhhh, go snorkelling in Anzac Cove for shell casings in about 1-3 feet of water about 10 feet from shore.

The only "mascot" war grave I've ever found is behind the main CWGC workshop in Anzac Cove. Ask for the horse grave and they'll point the way.

Be nice to the CWGC gardeners and they may pick you up and give you a ride back to town when you've been walking in the hot sun for hours and there isn't a soul around for kms.

Go north to Suvla and see where Ataturk's house was, nice little town where you can see how the locals re-used the shell casings into their houses. When in Suvla watch out for sheep dogs, they'll rip you apart if you don't keep an eye out for them.

In Ecebaet if you see a little black dog, real friendly and smart, looks like a Scotty Terrier, his name is Jacko. Feed him a dish of meat at the restaurant on the waterfront (next to the teahouse) for me and tell him I miss him. He's a damn good dog and only wish I could have taken him home to Canada with me.

Check my travelogue site here for Turkey emails and pix:

www.plansinsand.com

Oh yeah, need a few war graves pictures done that I missed the first two times, see my South War Graves link below.

http://www.southafricawargraves.org/

Ralph