Gallipoli was our last destination in Turkey and appropriately a place that conjures up reflection of the past and looking towards the future. It was hard to believe we were standing on the ground were thousands of soldiers lost their lives. Walking amongst the hundreds of graves and lists of names of soldiers was a mixed feeling of pride and sadness, as many bodies were not found and have unknown places of burial. Standing at the top of Chunuk Bair there is a clear view of ANZAC Cove from where supplies to the troops were brought in from the sea under the cover of darkness. This hill was the only place on the peninsular where the ANZACs were close to victory which was held by NZ and British troops for 2 nights before being defeated by the Turks.

The Gallipoli Campaign was said to be the last 'Gentlemen's War' where both sides held great respect for one another. The main symbol of this is materialised in a statue of a Turkish soldier carrying a wounded Allied soldier through no man's land between the two trenches back to their home side (Respect to Mehmetçik statue). Throughout our travels through Turkey, whenever a local discovers we're New Zealanders, we're greeted with friendly gestures and the occasional Kia Ora. Even today the warmth from the Turkish people is clear and this is represented through the respect of the ANZAC graves and monuments to both New Zealand and Australian troops.

The next step...

Tomorrow we fly to Belgrade, Serbia to begin our discovery of Eastern Europe. Turkey has been an amazing journey through history, culture and beautiful landscape - 3 weeks just isn't enough!