Anzac Study Tour 2013

Anzac Study Tour - April 2013

On the 16^th of April, 2013, a group of 11 students and teachers boarded their 11 hour flight to Korea. After staying overnight at Hyatt hotel, they flew another 10 hours to land at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul.

Prior to the trip, students and teachers from both Mt Roskill Grammar School (MRGS) and Avondale Intermediate School (AIS) attended six weeks of Turkish lessons. The purpose of the lessons was to introduce the participants to the Turkish culture and language. The lessons also enabled the students and teachers to become familiar with one another and PIF, the organizer of the trip.

There were two students and two teachers from MRGS. Similarly, there were two students from AIS but only one teacher who was accompanied by his wife. Also, one of the AIS student’s grandmother joined the group. One director and a Youth Platform member were chosen as Tour Leader and Tour Leader Assistant.

During the trip, the major tourist attractions and big cities were toured. Starting off at Istanbul, mosques such as Sultan Ahmet, palaces such as Topkapi Palace and Museums such as Hagia Sofia were visited. The participants were able to experience Turkish hospitality because they were often hosted in local Turkish homes. Another aspect of the Turkish culture that the participants were able to experience was the art of Ebru and calligraphy.

In Bursa, the participants experienced snow on Uludag, also known as the great mountain. After buying many beautiful Turkish scarves from the silk bazaar, it was time to travel to Izmir, a beautiful city on the coast of Turkey. In Izmir, one of Turkey’s most prestigious schools, Yamanlar College was visited. On the second day of Izmir, the archeological sites of Ephesus were explored.

On the 24^th, the group travelled to Canakkale from the coast of the Aegean sea. After visiting the 4000 year old Troy and Assos sights, the participant went to bed early to get enough rest for the highlight of the trip: ANZAC day.

Waking up at 2am and taking a ferry to Gallipoli at 3am as part of the protocol, the group attended the  ANZAC dawn service along side VIP. After the dawn service, the group joined the breakfast held on honour of the New Zealand and Australian ambassadors.

The participants had the opportunity to meet the New Zealand Ambassador, Taha MacPherson, the New Zealand Defense Minister, Jonathan Coleman, and the General Manager and Secretary of War Pensions, Rick Ottoway.

Thank you very much to the vali, his yardimci Mr. Alper Faruk Gungor and the members from the valilik for the arrangements of the accommodation and the group joining the VIP convoys. It was highly appreciated.

After the breakfast, the group joined the Australia commemoration and New Zealand memorial service, again as part of the VIP attendees.

A long drive to Istanbul then started and after a late dinner with the families at Tekirdag, the group arrived to Istanbul. On the 11^th day of the trip, The Grand and Egyptian Bazaars were visited. On the 12^th day, Forum Istanbul, the biggest shopping mall in Europe was visited and the participants enjoyed the beautiful sights of Bosporus during a yacht tour. Finally, on the last day after a 2 hour visit to the Miniaturk park  and lunch at Gulluoglu Restaurant and Café, the group was dropped off at the airport to travel back to New Zealand.

Finally, we would like to thank those who sponsored the tour. PASIAD for most of the accommodation, Canakkale valiligi for the arrangements at Canakkale, the families who hosted us at their homes and the businessman who helps us out financially through out the trip. 

Chunk Bair, Gallipoli

Vip seating at Anzac Commemoration, Anzac Cove, Gallipoli

Bosphorus, Istanbul

Racing, Snowing - Bursa

Welcome Dinner, Families, Istanbul

Ephesus, Izmir

Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Topkapi Palace, Tulips Garden

Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

Turkish Coffee makes you move :)

Sunset Maiden Tower, Istanbul

Dinner at a Restaurant, Istanbul

Having Fun with Water Marbling, Istanbul 

Istanbul View, Camlica Hill

Gate to the Heaven, Izmir

Hungry, Tired

Family Dinner, Istanbul

It is too cold, lets get in the van

New Zealand Ambassador in Turkey, Taha MacPherson(on the left),
The New Zealand Defense Minister(in the middle), Jonathan Coleman

Faruk Gungor, Canakkale Governor

Shopping at Grand Bazaar

Family Dinner

You can find more photos by clicking here

Reflections

A TRIP OF A LIFE TIME - TURKEY 16 - 30 APRIL 2013

I think good to mention how the group consists of? The trip started well with an uneventful flight to Korea, a stay overnight at the Hyatt – near the airport with not a peep out of North Korea. After dropping the suitcases into our shared rooms it was the first night of “eat as much as you can”.  Next morning, after a leisurely full breakfast we did sightseeing around the hotel and were impressed by the length of the bridge which joined Yeongjong Island, where the airport was, to the mainland of Incheon. Then, back to the airport for our Korean Airways flight to Turkey.
We arrived in Istanbul, and were amazed how easy it was to get into Turkey.  No declaration forms, questions, bag searches; just a stamp in the passport and we were through thinking “what, is that it?”
Our first introduction to Turkish hospitality occurred immediately, as we were whisked to the Gulluoglu restaurant to meet Taner and Nazife’s family members.  We were treated to what appeared to be ALL Turkish national dishes at once, which  also included our introduction to Turkish desert “Baklava” – Yum!!  This was a pattern that repeated itself on a daily basis, for all meals, throughout the trip.  Although language was a barrier, our hosts understood belly rubbing gestures and hand-signals that we were full.  We quickly learnt “doydum” for “I’m full”.  It became the most used word on the trip – soon adapted to “ҫok doydum” for “I’m very full”.
Accommodation for the first few nights was the penthouse dorm of a boys’ school -   fabulous rooms. Breakfast was in the boys’ dining room and what a feast.  Used to cereal, milk and toast on the run, it was so nice to relax and feast on salad, cheese, olives and yummy white bread with luscious honey.  This became the standard breakfast (although sometimes there was much more) and “Chai” or tea was readily available wherever we went.
Each day was an adventure.  We started off gently by visiting the huge array of tulips in bloom for the Tulip Festival at Emigran(Emirgan) Park.  It was interesting to see squirrels climbing up and down the trees and many school children taking advantage of the wonderful gardens at the park.  There were also stunning displays of vibrant coloured tulips throughout the city.  Most impressive were the gardens along the highways and main roads(good spot). That day, lunch was sponsored by an ex pupil of Taner’s at the Italian restaurant he owned - “doydum”.  As we came out of the restaurant, the next door restaurant owner tried to drag us in for more!  Once again, belly rubbing conveyed the message that there was absolutely no room left.
Over the next few days we were amazed by the architecture of so many buildings.  How they were built without any form of machinery is a wonder.  We saw examples of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman architecture - all within a short distance of each other including the Basilica Cistern, the Hagia Sopia(World largest and oldest church) and the Blue Mosque. A highlight of The Basilica Cistern were the Medusa heads with both heads laying on their sides and one eye open and the other closed. The Blue Mosque was beautiful with its one dome and was very popular, as it was full of people. We learnt to take off our shoes and for the women to cover their head with a scarf before entering. When it came to architecture, the crowning glory had to be the Topkapi Palace.  It just went on and on.  Apparently it is the world’s largest and oldest Palace(I am not sure). We had a guide who explained what each room or Pavillion was used for. We saw an array of weapons, clothing, jewels, tiles, architecture and gardens.   It was only when we got to look out over the Bosphorous that we realised just how high we were.  We could see from the Golden Horn to the Sea of Marama(Marmara). The views were incredible and the weather was perfect.
Hagia Sophia was amazing and we walked the most impressive interior stone and marble paths leading to the upper tier. The history of church-to mosque-to museum was interesting and the age of the building was apparent in the way that the marble floor had worn down in the doorways. Restoration was being done on parts of the ceiling.
The only slight on the day was when Diane got her wallet pickpocketed after being bumped into at the Topkapi Palace.  Cards etc were quickly cancelled, and she had been astute enough to split her cash.  Fortunately, they left her passport, which she immediately handed over to Robyn.  No pressure!  Robyn already had three passports to take care of – what was another one?  We followed up with a not so quick trip to the local police station – another new experience for Diane at least.  The rest of us hid out of the wind in a local hotel foyer. Before the police station, we visited a Handcrafts and Workshop centre.  After tea and coffee, we went upstairs to watch Calligraphy on marbled paper.
Off to the Asia side for a great sponsored dinner at a restaurant along the water front.  Taner’s friend was nicknamed “Peter Jackson” by us all (as he was the spitting image) and at his invitation, we were taken upstairs for dessert. He ordered one of everything on the menu for us to try before we chose which dessert we wanted – “ҫok doydum”.  The quickest way back to our accommodation was to catch a car ferry to the Europe side.
The next day we watched an artist, Hikmet Barutcugil who is an Ebru (marbling art) master at work, painting on liquid which is then transferred to paper. He made it look easy, and then we had a go.  Some small children joined us for their regular lessons and put us to shame.
Camlica Hill and visit to Nazife’s family
For dinner, we visited a nice family, in the country, about half an hour out of Istanbul.  They lived in an enclosed complex with security guards at the entrance. The students played soccer with the sons of the family.  The adults had such a great time talking after dinner over tea, that when Taner said “just let me know when you are ready to leave”, we reluctantly relented at about 10.30pm.  What we hadn’t realised was that we had a couple of hours(1hr!) drive to reach the ferry, cross to Yalova and then another drive to the camping ground we were to stay at for what was left of the night.  The camping ground fence was topped with coils of barbed wire, but by 2am when we got there, it hardly mattered.  In the morning, we discovered a very tidy and well run park but alas no clothes washing facilities as they were being updated.
After driving up the 2500 m high mountain the students had a great time in the snow at Cinar Uludag. Nuku managed to hold his hand under the freezing water for over a minute.  Several hours later, his hand was still very red. It was snowing when we arrived and a great time was had by all until the damp set in.  Then it was time to leave.
The Great Mosque is unusual – not just because of the 20 domes, but also because of the four levelled fountain inside the mosque itself. Next came the Silk Bazaar where we all bought gifts to take home.  That night, dinner was hosted in an eighth floor apartment.  This was another complex with security guards monitoring who went in or out.  After a tour of the spotless home, our students could not believe that the perfectly made up room they saw was used by an 18 year old boy.  When he arrived home he was to provide the answer – mum cleaned and picked up after him.  He also explained the importance and pressure on him to pass the exams that he was sitting. It was about 12.00 am that we reached our dormitory in a private school.  A great place to overnight in Bursa and guess what? -  “precious toilets”.
Izmir was quite different to Istanbul. The buildings were newer(! Not really) and similar in height(correct!), as it is located on a fault line. We were surprised to see very few women with scarves covering their heads. (After previous sentence if you straight talk about modern and unmodern, some people may misinterpret your thoughts and like Hafsa and my wife covering their head probably would not like to be called as unmodern)Apparently Izmir is considered to be more “modern(!)” in many ways than the “traditional” Istanbul. Visiting Yamanlar College was interesting – particularly the Library.  It had been designed as a Mosque but had never been used as such.  A picture of the Mt Roskill School Library flashed in our heads as a comparison.(then??? )  The students had a great time playing soccer with some of the school boys.  Once again the language barrier didn’t matter.
Ephesus was a big surprise - it was way bigger than expected.  We thought you could see all of it from the road, but it kept winding down the hill.  Troy on the other hand was smaller than expected.  It reminded us of home, when we found that the Trojan horse was closed for painting on one of the busiest days of the year (the day before Anzac Day).
The biggest highlight of the trip had to be the Dawn Service at Gallipoli and our “Protocol” status.  Thanks to the Governor of Canakkale, we had the very best of accommodation and were part of the VIP convoy with a Police escort.  We had to laugh when our little minivan was supposed to be number 6 (after the 5 big buses), only to find that the Auzzies had pinched our number.  We fitted in between bus 5 & 6 and so we called ourselves 5.5!
The dawn came slowly and as we waited in silence, watching the moon shining on the millpond-like sea; we almost expected to see boats coming out of the dark.  We felt pity for both sides – all young men, either protecting their homeland or out for adventure/a sense of duty.  We enjoyed the speeches and thought Jonathan Coleman’s speech was the best of the morning.  Later, we joined the dignitaries for breakfast.  The students fell on – wait for it – cereal and milk!  That was the one thing they had missed since leaving New Zealand.  After breakfast we met the Governor of Canakkale, Taha MacPherson - the NZ Ambassador to Turkey, an ex MRGS old boy Rick Ottaway who is the General Manager of Veterans Affairs in Wellington and Jonathan Coleman whom we congratulated on his speech and asked if he had written it himself.  When he confirmed that he had, we cheekily suggested that his wife must have helped him (as it was particularly sensitive and thought provoking). We then decided to attend both the Australian and New Zealand services – both moving experiences.  One hour each in the mid-morning sun left you wondering how those young men managed 24/7 and it wasn’t summer yet.  We were reminded that when winter came, so did the snow and rain.  Our police escort meant that we didn’t have an opportunity to wander amongst the gravestones – our only regret.  It did save us a steep walk of 8.5km minimum, from one service to the next, to the next – in that heat!  No wonder that so many of the crowd were young.  We oldies(not really better call “a bit older young person”) would have frayed around the edges for sure. The museum was opened up for us and we got to experience three of the eight 5D videos.  These were terrifying enough, imagine the real thing!
It appears our students may have been the only New Zealand students at the Dawn Service, and so we regretted the fact that we had not included their school uniforms in the luggage.  Also, it would have been a nice gesture to lay a wreath on behalf of the school.
Anzac Day turned out to be the longest day of the trip.  We had been up at 2 am, and following the services we were on the road back to Istanbul.  It was midnight before we got to bed(please you should mention that you had many opportunities to have nap during travel between the cities even within the city travels ).  I don’t think we moved a muscle for the rest of the night.  We really appreciated this apartment accommodation that we were to stay in for the rest of our time in Turkey.
The following day, we were off to the Grand Bazaar(world largest and oldest) and the Spice Bazaar.  We managed to negotiate the crowds at the Grand Bazaar and were escorted to the shops that gave us great deals. We managed to keep the party of eleven together, yet allow everyone to shop – no mean feat. The Spice Bazaar brought a whole new meaning to the word crowded.  The selection of beautiful oils, spices, tea and dried fruit were amazing.  At every shop we were offered tea.  We all bought Turkish Delight and tea to bring home.
A garden dinner feast was provided by the parents of an ex Mt Roskill Grammar exchange student, Semih.  Semih’s Dad telephoned him at England’s Cambridge University to tell him that we were there and Diane spoke to him.  As with all the wonderful Turkish hospitality dinners, lovely gifts were given to us.
Our second to last day(Breakfast at Simit Sarayi in Eyup Sultan/Golden Horn(Halic) and climbed up to Pierre Loti for tea and look out) brought another great highlight of the trip – a cruise on the Bosphorous.  We were able to see from the water, many of the places we had visited.  Some amazing buildings on the water’s edge turned out to be schools.  We had noticed, when travelling from the Europe side of Istanbul to the Asia side, differences.  These differences were even more obvious from the water.  The Asian side was newer and greener.  We passed under several bridges on the cruise – some of them quite low.  It didn’t seem to stop the many ferries and cruise boats going under them though.  At one point, there were at least four boats, including ours, all heading for the same gap at full speed.  As he handed Robyn the RAMS form, Andrew Ferguson’s words on the day before we left Auckland, that “most accidents occur on ferries”, sprang to mind. Just like the way the Turk’s drive on the roads, we all “merged like a zip” and made it through in one piece.  With 14 million people in Istanbul, we saw some close calls yet only one accident on our last day. NZ drivers could learn a lot.
The afternoon was spent in a last ditch effort to spend our Turkish Lira at the Forum – Europe’s largest shopping centre.  After going through the complex’s security and metal detectors, we spent four hours there and probably only saw a quarter of the shops.
The last day(Breakfast at Golden horn hotel’s terrace and tasting Ottoman’s sherbet) we visited Miniaturk which is a park with 1/25th scale models of buildings around Istanbul and the rest of Turkey.  In many of the photos, you wouldn’t know it wasn’t the real thing.  The only clue was a person standing in the background for scale.
Next stop was for our last meal in Turkey, where it all began, at the Gulluoglu restaurant.  By now, we were experienced at Turkish hospitality and had learned to pace ourselves.  From here we went to the airport, said our goodbyes to our driver who had driven long days whilst we had “nana naps” in the back.  Inside the main doors we were screened, much like going into the Turkish shopping malls.  We had a quick juggle of suitcase contents to ensure we didn’t exceed 23 kg, said our sad goodbyes to Taner and Hafsa and started our 27 hour journey home.
What we had covered in two weeks would have taken us a month on our own.  However, we would never have experienced the fantastic hospitality of the Turkish families and ventured to some of the places that we did without the awesome opportunity offered to us by the Pearl of the Islands Foundation.  This was only managed because of both Taner and Hafsas’ local knowledge and contacts.  Every day Taner was on the phone, arranging the next surprise.
Can we go again?  Please! (MRGS Newsletter)

 Robyn  and Diane , MRGS

Itinerary