Getting There
Following our visit to Ephesus in Selcuk, we went to the bus station where there were 3 bus offices. As we got close one of the people from one of the companies came and talked to us asking where we were wanting to go - we said Canakkale. He explained he had a late evening bus going straight there from Selcuk, or we could take a day bus but needed to catch a Dolmus from Selcuk to Izmir, the major city nearby and then catch the main bus from there. Cost would be 55 Lira each for Izmir to Canakkale and an extra 12 each for the Dolmus. We said we were just gathering prices and information, he replied "No problem, I will be sitting over there for when you come back to me". I thought that was a bit presumptuous, but the other two bus companies said they didn't have buses to Canakkale - so back to the guy we went and got our tickets!
So the next morning we went to Selcuk bus station, the same guy we bought tickets from showed us to the Dolmus, spoke to the driver, we paid the Dolmus fare and then once we found some seats which were not too broken in some respect we rode the roughly 90 minutes to Izmir bus station. Once there, a gentleman who had been sitting in the front of the Dolmus with the driver motioned to us to follow him, he took us to the bus ticket office for the bus company we were travelling with which was called Canakkale Truva, they told us to go to Platform 17, he then took us to where the toilets were, pointed to where Platform 17 was and bid us farewell. One toilet stop later we boarded our bus for Canakkale - not the same plush 2+1 seating that we'd had on the other buses but still quite comfortable and lots of leg room, for the 6ish hour journey ahead. Sasha had taken her travel pills so zonked out for a bunch of the trip, we got some drinks and biscuits on the journey but not the same level of service as our previous bus - and there was a 20ish-minute comfort stop around lunchtime at a place, where we visited the toilets and we grabbed some snacky foods to add to our lunchtime supplies which we ate on the bus. Unexpectedly, and also luckily for us, the bus station the bus was terminating at was the Ferry Port - which was across the road from our Hostel!
Our accommodation was called ANZAC House and was right by the Canakkale waterfront, we had a double bed in a room to ourselves but a shared bathroom. Check-in was easy, about the only thing which I didn't like was that we had a window facing the street and there was a balcony outside - no one went out on the balcony, but the balcony was kept lit up all night and the light came through the thin curtain. But this is why we have eyemasks and earplugs!
For dinner in Canakkale, we went to a fancy local Fish & Chip place that Sasha had looked up and got the recommended dishes of Sardines and Calamari to take away. The idea was to eat it in a park on the waterfront, but it turned out the park was the Naval Museum so instead we sat on the side of the footpath along the waterfront which worked well. The food was very tasty and fresh too! We also drank some very cheap Turkish tea at a venue along the Waterfront for 1 Lira apiece as we watched the sunset, and a cat came along and sat in my lap during this time also!
We didn't do much else in Canakkale - it was literally a whistle-stop staging point for our tour, but we did see the Trojan Horse from the Hollywood Movie Troy on the waterfront. To be honest I hate that movie, it messes up the story lines and the order of events but the Trojan Horse from it is probably the closest to reality of any horse that I've seen.
I've put this bit last, as its going to be a huge amount of writing. It was a huge tour - Troy, Gallipoli, and transfer onwards to Istanbul all in the same day and all a part of the tour. Our friend Nat did this, and although we could have done all elements separately this would have cost more time - time that would have had to come from time spent in Goreme or Istanbul probably. It cost a bit, but it was simply the best, and hassle free way of doing it - and funnily enough it was run by a company called Hassle Free tours who's offices were based in our Hostel (we booked it via Viator however).
So as we descended the stairs of our Hostel for checkout, we were greeted by a man who said "You are on the Tour today, yes?". This was Apo, the man who would be our driver to Troy, and be our driver and Guide for Gallipoli. It turns out we were the only people on this tour today - the entire tour to ourselves! Apo took us out towards Troy, where we picked up our Guide for Troy at his cafe nearby the Troy site and then went inside Troy.
This is Troy from the Iliad and mentioned in the Oddysey by Homer. The one with Helen of Troy, the one with the Trojan Horse. Many people still think it is just a story, but no - there was a real city of Troy and the story has to be rooted in some reality. Some aspects of the story are surely embellished, and sure it could all be made up. However it is on record that there was a city known as Troia in the area for 1000's of years, being abandoned around 1300 and Canakkale being built around then to replace it. Excavations at the site claimed to be Troy have proven that it was the city known as Troia.
As a kid at school, we are taught about Gallipoli and the Anzac's efforts there. Aussies and Kiwi's being called up to help fight for Mother Britain, landing at Anzac Cove on 25th April to a hail of bullets rather than the beach further along like they were meant to. When I was 14 learning about Chunik Bair at school as well - the Kiwi's taking the hilltop, but only holding it for 2 days before it was lost to the Turkish again and later the Allied forces pulled out without taking control of the Dardanelles, the objective. Much is made of the bravery and valour of both sides - fighting honorably in an awful situation, and the "birth of a nation" sense of identity that seemingly was borne out of it all by the NZers and Aussies, and that both countries drew closer as a result. Also, it is always strongly noted that despite being on opposite sides and fighting each other, Turkey, Australia and NZ have the utmost respect for each others roles in the conflict and stand together as equals in the commemorations.