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€ 125.00 /Per Person
REQUEST TO BOOK Gallipoli: Full-Day Sightseeing Tour from Istanbul
See the landing beaches, World War I memorials and cemeteries of the Anzac Campaign on a full-day tour of Gallipoli from Istanbul.
Enjoy breakfast and lunch as you cross the Dardanelles en route, go to Johnston’s Jolly, and much more.
Key Highlights
See the landing beaches and war memorials of Gallipoli
Visit the Lone Pine Australian War Memorial
Stop for lunch on the roof of the Grand Eceabat Hotel
Enjoy panoramic views of the Dardanelles
Take an optional walk along the Artillery Road
Go to the grave of the legendary Gallipoli soldier Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick
What to Expect
Travel back to the days of World War I as you explore the war memorials, battlefields, and landing sites of the Anzac Campaign in Gallipoli.
Following a pick-up from your hotel in Istanbul, transfer by air-conditioned vehicle across the Dardanelles. Stop for lunch on the roof of the Grand Eceabat Hotel in Eceabat.
Learn the story of the fateful campaign as you visit all the most important sites, such as Brighton Beach, the 1st intended landing site for troops of the New Zealand and Australian armies. Go to Beach Cemetery, the most famous of all the Anzac cemeteries, and see the grave of Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick, one of the best-known of the Anzac soldiers.
Look at the Anzac Commemorative Site at North Beach, below the sphinx where the dawn service is held on Anzac Day.
Go to Johnston's Jolly to see where the Turkish and Allied trenches were within 30 feet of each other.
On tour you will visit:
Kabatepe War Museum
Beach Cemetery (John Simpson's Grave)
ANZAC Cove
Ari Burnu (First ANZAC landing place)
Lone Pine Cemetery (Australian memorial)
Johnston's Jolly (Walk in the ANZAC trenches)
View Shrapnel Valley
Turkish Memorial
The Nek & Walker's Ridge
Chunuk Bair (Main New Zealand memorial)
Please tell us before tour if you would like us to research or locate an ANZAC grave. There are no registers out on the peninsula.
Brief Tour Itinerary
1 DAY GALLIPOLI TOUR
DAY 1
06.00 — Pick up from your hotel in Taksim area.06.30/07.00 — Pick up from your hotel in Sultanahmet and transfer to Eceabat.12:00 — Arrive in Eceabat & lunch at a local restaurant.13.00 — Depart from Eceabat for Fully Guided Gallipoli Tour.
Visiting;
Brighton Beach,
Beach Cemetery,
ANZAC Cove, Ariburnu Cemetery,
ANZAC Commemorative Site,
Respect to Mehmetcik Statue
Lone Pine Australian Memorial,
Johnston's Jolly, (Turkish and Allied trenches and tunnels),
57. Regiment Turkish Memorial
The Nek, Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial,
18.00 — End of the tour and depart for Istanbul23.00 — Arrive in Istanbul and drop back to your hotel OR Overnight local bus to Izmir / Selcuk / Kusadasi can be arranged.
This Tour Includes:
All transportation by A/C 'NO - SMOKING'
Lunch at a local restaurant.
Fully Guided Gallipoli tour with a professional English speaking guide.
GELIBOLU or GALLIPOLI is the principal town at the northern end of the Dardanelles. Many visitors come here each year to visit the battlefields of the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign.
To visit the battlefields you will need either your own transport, hire a taxi, or take one of the organised tours. For further information about Canakkale, the Dardanelles and places on the eastern side of the strait, see Route 6. History.
In the early 14C a wild band of Catalan mercenaries, who had been recruited by the Byzantines to fight the Turks, captured and held the fortress. From here they pillaged the towns and cities of Thrace and for seven years resisted all attempts to dislodge them. The Turks gained their first foothold in Thrace in 1354, when they were given the castle of Tzympe by the Byzantine Grand Chancellor, Cantacuzenus, as a reward for services rendered to the emperor Andronicus III. Tzympe was not far from Callipolis and when shortly afterwards the walls of Callipolis were destroyed by a great earthquake, they occupied it. The Byzantines, believing that the earthquake was a manifestation of the will of God, offered no resistance. Apart from brief periods Callipolis remained in Turkish hands thereafter and was developed as a naval base.
The ruined Byzantine castle in the inner harbour was used as a prison during the Ottoman period. Incarcerated here for six months in 1666 was Sabbatai Zvi, the False Messiah. The son of a Jewish poulterer from Smyrna (Izmir), he was born on the Ninth of Av, an auspicious day in the Jewish calendar. Hailed from infancy as the long awaited Messiah, Sabbatai proclaimed his divine status in 1666 and many Jews in the Ottoman empire and in other countries accepted his claims. His activities soon came to the notice of the authorities and he was brought before Mehmet IV in Edirne. Accused of treason and of deceiving the people, he was told that the penalty for these crimes was a slow and painful death. He would be dragged naked behind a spirited horse until he expired. In the face of this threat Sabbatai's resolve crumbled. He renounced his claims, apostasied and, accepting the turban, became a Muslim.
Gelibolu's modest free-standing bedesten has six domes in two rows. The fine 15C namazgah dates from 1407. Note the use of ancient marble in the structure and the two mimbers which flank the mihrab. A number of famous Turkish sailors were buried in Gelibolu. Among them was Piri Reis (1465- 1554), the swashbuckling Mediterranean pirate who helped Selim I in his Egyptian campaign and wrote the great Ottoman geographical compen- dium, the Kitab-1-Bahriye or Book of the Sea. He is commemorated in Gelibolu by a statue on the sea front and a small museum.
In 405 BC the final and decisive battle of the Peloponnesian War took place at the Cumali Cayi, the Aegospotami or Goat's River of the Greeks, 13km SW of Gelibolu. The Athenians camped here. Lysander and the Spartans were at Lampsacus on the other side of the strait. For five days Each day the challenge was ignored. After the Athenians had returned to the Athenians sailed to Lampsacus and challenged the Spartans to fight. Aegospotami on the fifth day and started their daily search of the country-side for food, Lysander attacked. There was little resistance, as most of the Athenians were away from their camp. The Spartans captured 170 triremes and cold-bloodedly massacred about 3000 Athenians found on them. of Clazomenae
The theory of the 5C BC philosopher Anaxagoras heavenly bodies were made of stone wrenched from the earth and made incandescent by their motion may have been influenced by the fall of a meteorite in the neighbourhood of Aegospotami in 467. All that remains on the site of ancient Sestus, an Aeolian colony estab that the lished in the 7C BC, are the ruined medieval walls and castle. Sestus has associations with the ill-fated lovers Hero and Leander, with Xerxes, with Alexander the Great and with Lord Byron. (See Abydus in Route 6.) On 25 April 1915 the first Allied troops landed on the Gallipoli peninsula. From the beginning things went badly. A signals failure sent the ANZAC contingent to the wrong beach where they were pinned down by enemy fire. The Anglo-French landing tared little better. It met fierce resistance and suffered heavy losses. During the eight months of the campaign the Allies were able to make little progress inland. Their Turkish opponents were commanded brilliantly by Lieutenant-Colonel Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) who told his soldiers, I am not ordering you to attack, I am ordering you to die.
During the campaign acts of great bravery were performed by the soldiers of both sides. On the day of the first landings Australian troops were led ashore by teenage British midshipmen, two of whom were in their first term at Dartmouth Naval College.
The cemeteries are in two groups, one to the NW of Eceabat, the other near the tip of the Thracian Chersonese. To visit the first group, look out for a signposted turning on the right by Kilye Bay just to the N of Eceabat. This will bring you to Anzac Cove. En route you pass the Kabate Museum where there are displays of photographs, maps, weapons and militaria found in the area. Shortly after reaching the coast, the road turns N and runs parallel with the sea. Here above the quiet, peaceful cove more than 3000 soldiers are buried in nine cemeteries. Their names, Shell Green, Shrapnel Valley, Beach. Plugge's Plateau, An Burnu, Canterbury, No. 2 Outpost, N.Z. No. 2 Outpost and Embarkation Pier, are poignant reminders of the dreadful and tragic events which took place here in 1915.
To the N of the beach, near the Salt Lake, there are four cemeteries. Azmak, Hill 10, Green Hill, and Lala Baba, with about 5000 graves. To the SE of the lake is Hill 60 Cemetery and a New Zealand memorial where 900 of the fallen are commemorated.
From Anzac Cove a rough track leads up to a further group of cemeteries, to the Lone Pine memorial and a second New Zealand memorial. In the Lone Pine, Johnston's Jolly, 4th Battalion Parade Ground, Courtney's and Steel's Post, Quinn's Post, Walker's Ridge, the Nek, Baby, and Cunuk Bair cemeteries a further 3700 young men are buried. More than 5700 more are listed on the two memorials.
The Turkish dead are remembered on Conkbayiri Hill. Five great stones like the fingers of a dead man's hand, rise from the ground in silent protest to God for the waste of human life which took place during this campaign. To reach the cemeteries near the tip of the Thracian Chersonese return to the main road and continue S to Eceabat.
At Eceabat, the 7C BC Aeolian foundation known as frequent ferry boat services to Canakkale. The promontory to the S of Eceabat was known as Cynos-Sema, where it was said Hecuba was buried (Strabo 13.1.28). The name Cynos-Sema, which means the Grave of the Madytus, there are Bitch, was explained in an ancient legend. According to this, when Hecuba was stoned to death for killing Polymestor, king of the Chersonese, her murderers found not a human corpse beneath the stones, but a bitch with eyes of fire. Another legend says that Hecuba was transformed into a bitch, as she was being chased by the companions of her slain son Polydorus. Towards the end of 411 BC the Athenians defeated the Spartan fleet, which was under the command of the inept Mindarus, near Cynos-Sema.
About 4km to the S is Kilitbahir whose name, the Lock of the Sea, is derived from a fortress built here by Mehmet II before he began his attack on Constantinople in 1453. It was linked with a similar castle, known as Kalei Sultaniye (now Canakkale), on the Asian side of the straits. The Allies lost three battleships and almost 3000 sailors in a failed attempt to take the castles in 1915. The road follows the coast for a short distance to the S of Kilitbahir then turns inland to Alcitepe where it divides. The right fork will take you to Twelve Tree Copse cemetery, where there are 3660 burials and a New Zealand memorial. At Pink Farm cemetery there are 610 graves. The Ilyasbaba Burnu, the ancient Mastusia Promontory, is the western- most point of the Thracian Chersonese. Near the tip are the Lancashire Landing and V Beach cemeteries, where more than 1900 rest. From the cliff top Turkish gunners mowed down Allied soldiers as they attempted to make a landing here in 1915. The slaughter was so great that the sea was red with blood for a great distance from the shore. The Helles Memorial, an obelisk more than 30m high, which commemo-rates those whose graves are unknown or who were lost or buried at sea, stands at the tip of the peninsula, where it may be seen by passing ships. To the E of the memorial is Morto Bay. Here in the French cemetery 10,000 French troops, who fell in the Gallipoli campaign, are remembered. To the NE of the bay is the Canakkale Martyrs Memorial erected in memory of the Turkish dead. This is sometimes known as the Mehmetcik Aniti, the Mehmetcik Memorial. 'Mehmetcik' is an affectionate term sometimes
It is estimated that 160,000 Allied soldiers and about 90,000 Turkish soldiers died on the killing fields of Gallipoli. Only 30,000 of the Allied dead are in known graves. Many of the fallen came from Australia and New Zealand and Anzac Cove is now a place of pilgrimage for people from both countries. They come here in search of the graves of relatives or just to see where so many of their countrymen, in many cases no older than them- selves, died in the course of the ill-fated Gallipoli adventure.
Is Gallipoli worth visiting?
Gallipoli is a historically significant and culturally rich destination located in Turkey. It holds great importance due to the events of World War I, particularly the Gallipoli Campaign that took place from April 1915 to January 1916. This campaign involved a series of battles fought by Allied forces, primarily ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) and British forces, against the Ottoman Empire.
Can I do a day trip from Istanbul to Gallipoli?
Yes, you can do a day trip from Istanbul to Gallipoli, but it will be a long and fairly tiring day due to the distance between the two locations. The journey from Istanbul to Gallipoli by road takes approximately 4-5 hours each way, depending on traffic conditions. You can book your Gallipoli Day Trip with Velena Travel.
How can I tour Gallipoli?
Touring Gallipoli is a meaningful and educational experience, given its historical significance related to World War I. You can simply book Gallipoli Tour with Velena Travel
How long do I need to visit Gallipoli?
The amount of time you need to visit Gallipoli depends on your interests and how thoroughly you want to explore the area. Here are some guidelines to help you decide how long to allocate for your visit to Gallipoli:
Day Trip: If you have limited time and can only make a day trip from Istanbul or another nearby city, you can see some of the key sites in Gallipoli in a single day. However, it will be a long and tiring day, and you'll likely need to prioritize specific sites and move quickly.
Overnight Trip: If you have a bit more time, consider staying overnight in the nearby towns of Eceabat or Canakkale. This will allow you to explore more sites at a more relaxed pace. A one-night stay can be sufficient for a relatively comprehensive visit.
Two or Three Days: To gain a deeper understanding and explore more of Gallipoli, you may want to consider spending two or three days in the area. This will give you the opportunity to visit a wider range of sites, including some of the less-visited locations, and immerse yourself more fully in the history and atmosphere of Gallipoli.
Special Events: If you plan your visit to coincide with special events like Anzac Day (April 25th), keep in mind that the area can be extremely crowded, and you may need to arrange accommodations well in advance.
Ultimately, the duration of your visit to Gallipoli depends on your level of interest in the history of the Gallipoli Campaign, your travel schedule, and how thoroughly you want to explore the sites and museums. Keep in mind that Gallipoli is a place of historical significance and reflection, so taking the time to appreciate its history and atmosphere is advisable.
Why is Gallipoli so famous?
Gallipoli is famous primarily because of its historical significance related to the Gallipoli Campaign during World War I. The campaign, which took place from April 25, 1915, to January 9, 1916, involved a series of battles between Allied forces, mainly ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) and British forces, and the Ottoman Empire. The campaign is famous for several reasons:
Strategic Importance: The Gallipoli Peninsula was strategically significant during World War I. The Allies aimed to capture the Dardanelles Strait to establish a supply route to Russia and to weaken the Ottoman Empire.
Fierce Battles: The Gallipoli Campaign witnessed intense and protracted battles, with both sides enduring significant casualties. The rugged terrain, harsh weather, and determined Ottoman defenses made it a brutal and challenging theater of war.
ANZAC Legend: The bravery and resilience of the ANZAC troops, particularly the Australians and New Zealanders, left a lasting legacy. The concept of the "ANZAC spirit" and the idea of mateship and sacrifice in the face of adversity became an important part of the national identities of Australia and New Zealand.
Cultural and Historical Significance: The Gallipoli Campaign has become a symbol of sacrifice and remembrance, especially in Australia and New Zealand. Anzac Day (April 25th) is a national day of commemoration in both countries, and it is observed with services and events to honor those who served and died in the campaign.
International Commemoration: The Gallipoli Peninsula is the final resting place for thousands of soldiers from various nations. The well-maintained cemeteries, memorials, and museums in the area serve as international sites of remembrance and attract visitors from around the world.
Literary and Cinematic Works: Gallipoli has been the subject of numerous books, films, and other artistic works. For example, the 1981 film "Gallipoli," directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson, brought the campaign to a wider international audience.
Peace and Reconciliation: Over the years, Gallipoli has also become a symbol of reconciliation and peace, as the nations involved in the campaign now share strong diplomatic ties and cooperation.
The Gallipoli Campaign left a profound impact on the nations involved and on the history of World War I. It is celebrated for the valor and camaraderie of the soldiers, while also serving as a reminder of the devastating consequences of war. The historic sites and memorials on the Gallipoli Peninsula continue to attract visitors who wish to pay their respects and learn about this important chapter in history.
What to see in Gallipoli?
Gallipoli is a region with a rich historical and cultural heritage, and there are several important sites and attractions to see when visiting the area. Many of these sites are related to the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I, which is the primary focus of interest in the region. Here are some key places and things to see in Gallipoli:
Anzac Cove: This is the site where the Allied forces, particularly the ANZAC troops, landed on April 25, 1915. It is one of the most significant and solemn locations in Gallipoli.
Lone Pine Cemetery: This is one of the largest and most visited cemeteries in Gallipoli. It contains the graves of many Australian and New Zealand soldiers who lost their lives during the campaign.
Chunuk Bair: A significant battle took place at Chunuk Bair, and the site offers panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. The New Zealand Memorial stands here.
Turkish 57th Regiment Cemetery: This is a Turkish cemetery, and it provides insight into the Ottoman perspective on the Gallipoli Campaign.
The Nek: The Nek was the site of a famous and tragic battle, and the Turkish 57th Regiment's Ataturk Memorial is located here.
Kabatepe Simulation Center: This center features exhibits and simulations that help visitors understand the Gallipoli Campaign in more detail.
Gallipoli National Park Visitor Center: Located at the entrance to the Gallipoli Peninsula, this visitor center provides information and orientation for visitors.
Ariburnu Cemetery: This cemetery contains the graves of British and Commonwealth soldiers, and it is located near Anzac Cove.
Suvla Bay: Explore the beaches and landscapes at Suvla Bay, which was a significant landing site for the Allied forces.
Beaches and Coastline: Gallipoli Peninsula offers beautiful beaches and rugged coastlines where you can relax and take in the natural beauty.
Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park: This park covers a large area and contains many of the historical sites and cemeteries related to the Gallipoli Campaign.
Helles Memorial: Located at Cape Helles, this memorial commemorates British and French soldiers who fought at the southern tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Museums: The region has several museums that provide more in-depth information about the campaign, including the Canakkale Naval Museum and the Kabatepe Simulation Center.
Monuments and Memorials: Throughout the region, you'll find various monuments and memorials dedicated to soldiers and those who served during the campaign.
Remember that when visiting these sites, it's essential to be respectful and considerate, as they are places of remembrance and reflection. Exploring Gallipoli offers an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the history, sacrifices, and significance of the Gallipoli Campaign during World War I.
