Gallipoli Driving Route

I've just spent a few days on a road trip to the Gallipoli peninsula. The last time I was there was probably 40 years ago and I can only remember being underwhelmed by the spectacle. It was time to revisit. I googled "Gallipoli Driving Route" and nothing useful came up so I'm filling the gap. We probably missed a lot but the work done on restoring all the graveyards, signposting and building a decent road, made this trip much more impressive than my last visit.

We stayed overnight in Çanakkale and took the car ferry to Kilitbahir - A short trip costing 435 TL. Views of the castle tempted us from the sea but unfortunately it was closed for repairs so we drove a few hundred meters up the road to the Gun Implacements. It's worth stopping here; first to marvel at how Winston Churchill ever thought he'd get a fleet past these massive defences and secondly to see the jar of custard that's ended up here 110 years after it set off from the UK.

Next stop was Alcıtepe, which doesn't seem to be on any of the English speaking coach tours but was the highlight of my trip. A loud re-enactment of trench warfare and doctors and nurses sorting out the aftermath of this barbarity was humbling, moving and stomach turning; probably not suitable for young children. I'd read reports of soldiers throwing biscuits and cigarettes at each other during lulls in the fighting but hadn't realised just how close opposing trenches were.

From here it's a short drive to The Çannakkale Martyrs Memorial and a search among the graves for Bodrum names. Not that we'd be able to recognise any of course as surnames had yet to be introduced when these young men sacrificed their lives.

On to Seddülbahir point where the castle's mix of war memorablia, archaeology, restoration techniques and art gave a welcome break from non-stop death and destruction. Also it's a good place to stop for lunch and loos.

Heading back up the peninsula on the Western side you have to take your pick of which cemeteries you want to visit. We stopped first at Shell Green, then drove up the rough road to Lone Pine.

I'd have liked to pop into the museum at Kabatepe but it was closed so we carried on up to Anzak Cove.

Then up to Suvla Bay where the smooth asphalt road comes to an abrupt end at the rocky headpoint and the only thing to do is turn around and go back the way you came...

...which gives you chance to stop at Hill 10 (if you missed it the first time you drove past) opposite the impressive statue of a Newfoundland moose, and pay respects to some of the British fallen.

Our final port of call was Bigali, Ataturk's base during the campaign, but we were too late at 5:30 to see inside the house (it would have been ok June to September when it shuts later) but enjoyed the village without any coach parties and sat and chatted with locals over the first decent coffee of the day, admiring the evening sun on the yellow stone and Turkish flags. We arrived back at Kilitbahir to drive straight on to the ferry, surprised that the return fare was only 215 TL.