Day 16

G'day cobbers, today we headed down to the lobby after having breakfast on the 7th floor of our hotel. We headed off to Topkapi Palace where we waited for Mr Croft to get our tickets, only to find out after half an hour that we couldn't get in. After a small discussion we then decided to go to the Grand Bazaar early. We then put on our bartering hats, with the side challenge of getting a gift for Courtney McKnight's birthday.

At the Bazaar, we split off into our small groups to experience the culture of Istanbul. The Bazaar felt like large, winding tunnels, with over 2500 different stalls, there was a huge variety of goods to choose from. The stalls ranged from carpets to scarves to jewellery and even swords. The Grand Bazaar was definitely an experience different to what most of us are used to, as we were unable to explore everything it has to offer in the three hours we had to shop. Lucas' experience with the locals was somewhat humorous as Mr Washbourne and he were in what felt like a shifty deal after nearly being charged 24,000 lira for a watch. Everyone enjoyed the experience as many of us came away with little money to spare.

After making our way back to the hotel, we had a few hours to spare before heading back for a second attempt at getting into Topkapi Palace. After a struggle at the gate once again, we finally made it through. The palace displayed unique artefacts from as early as the 13th century BC and also showcased a 86 carat diamond as well as hundreds of other priceless gems. There was a room containing weapons and armour with swords up to at least 2 metres long. 

We had dinner at the Hatay, which was around the corner from our hotel. Everyone enjoyed their dinner with friendly banter between the adults who had chosen the previous restaurants and Mr Washbourne and Mr Bylund, who had chosen tonight's restaurant. They ended up with a score of 50 out of 70, beating previous winners, Mrs Hanns and Lisa, by 13 points. Everyone sang happy birthday to Courtney and gave her their presents, finishing off a great night:)

By Lucas and Braydee

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com

Day 15 Photos

 

 

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com 

Day 15

Today was no exception from any other day on tour. It was full on and as usual started with something, let's say humorous, from Fraser. He went to sit down and join a few business men in uniform without realising it, which was actually pretty funny. After he figured out where to sit and we finished up brekky we left Canakkale for Istanbul. The bus trip started with Mr Croft telling everyone that we have to wear our seat belts and that's when Lisa checked and discovered her seatbelt worked too well. Her seatbelt wouldn't eject and she was stuck. The driver saved Lisa from eternal life on the bus with some seatbelt tools and she is now okay so don't stress. The scores for "My Tour Kitchen Rules" for Wayne and Rod were revealed. They achieved 23, putting them in first place out of two.

We stopped at a servo for a toilet/ snack break where we discovered a machine that consisted of a giant speed ball you punch as hard as you can and are given a score based on the power of the punch. Jake East was told he had to give it ago and so he did. After hitting this giant speedball and shaking the machine, I might add, he was given a score of 915. This is a reasonable score, but Mr Croft wanted a go.  Jake thought straight away he was going to be put to shame by the big man, although Crofty's punch would scare many it did not score as highly and Easty's. Turns out both boys were put to shame when a big Turkish bloke had swing and smashed both their scores.

Six hours after leaving Canakkale we arrived in Istanbul, our final stop of our journey and experienced our first Turkish traffic jam which was pretty hectic to say the least. Our tour guide Hakan ran down the street getting cars out of the way, he did a good job. Finally we got to our hotel, settled in and headed straight back out into the vibrant city of Istanbul. Tahlia's day was made when she made a new friend with a small Turkish boy aged around three. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and got a few in return along with some hugs and high five making everyone go "aww".

Jodie Hanns got a little emotional when a man approached Luke asking, "where you from?" Luke replied, "Australia" to which the man said, "uh Anzac. Me, you, we friends". This demonstrates the relationship the Turks have made with the Aussies after the effects of the Great War. We visited the Blue Mosque (or the Yellow Mosque, as Kate Varis reckons) and it was simply breathing taking. The Blue Mosque is a church for the Muslim religion so we were told to take off our shoes and for the girls to cover their heads with a nice blue scarf that was provided. We witnessed people praying and took in the significant architecture of the massive structure. We have once again experienced something new and different from our own culture and are appreciative of that. Next stop was the Basilica Cistern which was an underground waterway used to supply water to Aya Sophia Palace. This is another prime example of excellent architecture and sense of history that continues to overwhelm everyone involved in the tour.

Dinner tonight was different and selected by Jodie and Lisa. It was a Turkish treat in that we ate on the floor seated amongst pillows. Dinner was good and we got to experience some Turkish appetisers. Mr Croft was crowned Sultan of the Tour with a crown and robe, which of course pleased him. Scores for tonight's dinner on My Tour Restaurant Rules ranged between what follows:
Entree: 5-6
Main: 7-7
Desert: 2-4
Bonus points for overall comfort: 6
A total of 37 was awarded putting them on top of the leader board.

By Jake and Courtney R

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com

Day 14 Photos

 

 

 

 

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com

Day 14 - Return to Gallipoli

It was another early rise for those in the 2013 ANZAC Tour. Beginning the day with a ferry ride from Canakkale to Ecebat across the Dardanelles Strait. This was where we met our tour guide for the day, Izzet, who we soon found out, has plenty of knowledge about World War I. From this ferry ride we began our drive to the Gallipoli Peninsula where we started the day with a talk at Brighton Beach by our guide. Brighton Beach was the intentional landing place for the ANZAC troops in 1915, however they landed at ANZAC Cove, North Beach. There are two different theories behind why we landed at North Beach, including the current causing the ships to drift North, and a strategic change of plan by the Commander. After seeing the blue of the ocean at Brighton Beach we were back on the bus to head for Shrapnel Valley. At this cemetery another poem was read, this time by Lucas Taylor. From here we continued walking up the hill to the memorial for those who were killed in the Plugges Plateau battle. At this point there was an opportunity to view ANZAC Cove from a higher perspective, which was breathtaking. Again we climbed higher, and through the bushes until we reached the highest point of the plateau. From here we could see where we camped the night before the Dawn Service. We walked down a little further to take memorable photos above the start of ANZAC Cove. The Ari Burnu Cemetery was the next stop, where Jake East got the opportunity to read his poem. Then we conducted our own ceremony at ANZAC Cove where Brittany Seaton, Emily Wishart, Liam Bergersen and Anthea Abbott read passages and poems before the laying of the wreath by Tahlia Dawson Gibbs, Lucas Taylor, Emily Wishart and Fraser Bebbington. This ceremony was very special and emotional to most of the group as we were at the position where many Australians lay at rest. This ceremony that we held in remembrance for the ANZAC's was the last one that we would attend, other than the poems that were read later in the day. Here at ANZAC Cove we also had Courtney Salmeri play the Australian Nation Anthem on her guitar while the group sang. After this we made a quick venture to Hill 60 and then took the bus back to Beach Cemetery where we had lunch under a tree. It was here that we revisited the grave of John Simpson, the medical officer with his donkeys. Matthew Flanagan read his poem here as a sign of respect. Finally we made our way up to Lone Pine for the last time where Liam Bergersen read his poem. We made our way up to Johnson's Jolly, where we explored the trenches before carrying on to The Nek, depicted in the film "Gallipoli". It was here where so many troops were mown down so dramatically, with wave after wave being sent over the top of the trenches. Being at The Nek, it was surprising how close the two forces were during this attack. They say tje battlefield was only size of a tennis court, and being there reinforced that realisation. Following The Nek was Walkers Ridge, and Tyler Anania had the opportunity to read his poem by the side of a Maori New Zealander grave. As the day grew on we made our way to Baby 700 where we commemorated a relative of a friend of Jeremy De Vos, and at this headstone Travis Taylor read his poem which had in fact been written by a previous tour student. Finally we heaved the bus up the hill to Chunuk Bair, the major memorial for New Zealand. This was our last stop for the day. We walked around taking in our surroundings before heading back to our hotel. "My Tour's Restaurant Rules" was continued tonight at a restaurant chosen by Rod Salmeri and Wayne Sanford. The results for this meal will be revealed tomorrow morning on the bus to Istanbul.

By Brittany and Tyler

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com