A MUSICAL VOYAGE - Royal Australian Navy
A MUSICAL VOYAGE - Royal Australian Navy
A MUSICAL VOYAGE - Royal Australian Navy
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- 129 –<br />
It was just as well a hearty breakfast was on offer as the day’s proceedings of a tour of the<br />
sites of Istanbul conducted by our allocated guides was non stop but a once in a life time<br />
adventure. We were fortunate to visit some of Istanbul’s premier tourist attractions<br />
including the Hippodrome and monuments where the crowds used to gather to watch<br />
Gladiator Battles, the Blue Mosque, St. Sophia’s (originally a Roman Catholic Church then<br />
Mosque and now a museum), the Basilica Cistern and best of all, the Turkish Grand Bazaar!<br />
4000 stalls of shopping pleasure! At one point one of our police escorts was heard to<br />
announce: “Step away from the <strong>Australian</strong>s, I repeat, step away from the <strong>Australian</strong>s!” over<br />
a loud speaker to the local spruiking salesmen! (This did make the Contingent Commander a<br />
little nervous because of the security alerts). We were constantly tailed and looked out for<br />
by our own personal men in black and the entire Turkish police force. The gross national<br />
earnings for Turkey (particularly from the purchase of leather jackets) was, at very least,<br />
doubled in the few hours the contingent spent at the Bazaar! But that wasn’t all our guides<br />
had in store for us….<br />
A six-course meal and a dose of the local liquor “Raki” ensured the night was going to be<br />
interesting. Local traditional dancers, scantily clad (and extremely talented!) belly dancers<br />
made the Padre’s night extremely interesting as one rather voluptuous dancer plonked<br />
herself down and proceeded to shimmy her way across the Padre’s lap! Nothing but nothing<br />
though was to prepare us for “Singing around the world” with Mr. Charisma himself, the<br />
“Julio Inglesias/ Elvis” of Turkey! A musical event we will never have the opportunity to<br />
repeat!! Fatigue was starting to show and despite enjoying the whole day’s entertainment,<br />
everyone was more than ready to fall into bed and sleep.<br />
Call to prayer: 0515! Woo Hoo, a sleep in!!! Today would find us packing bags and getting<br />
onto our busses (with our police escort) to travel from Istanbul to the Gallipoli peninsula, a<br />
four hour trip by road. On our arrival we were greeted by to local historians who guided us<br />
through a most memorable tour of the gravesites and in particular, a visit to ANZAC Cove<br />
and Lone pine memorial sites. Each of the memorials were beautifully maintained, an<br />
obvious recognition of the kinship and mutual respect between the ANZAC and Turkish<br />
nations. The pristine shores of the coves along the peninsula did not, however, belie the<br />
terrible loss of predominantly young lives during the Gallipoli campaign. The thought of<br />
scaling massive cliffs, cold and wet, with masses of gear strapped to your back and a rifle<br />
in your hand while dodging a barrage of fire in the pre-dawn blackness sent a chill right<br />
through me. There was, however boundless tales of mateship and gentlemanly candour as<br />
ANZACs and Turks exchanges cigarettes, food and other items of comfort during the quieter<br />
times and had a respect for one and other as brothers in arms that have carried through to<br />
the present. On completion of this most exhilarating experience we bussed down these<br />
narrow winding roads to Eccabat where we boarded the ferry for a bit of sea time across<br />
the Dardanelles to our accommodation in the seaside town of Cannakie. That evening saw<br />
us do our own thing for dinner in the mandatory groups of four or five.<br />
The following morning saw us back on the ferry and across to the Peninsula to do some<br />
work (yes, work)! We represented Australia in the march past at the Turkish International<br />
Service held at Mehmetcik and was also apart of the congregation at the Commonwealth<br />
Memorial Service at Cape Helles, where we also provided two buglers for the Last Post and<br />
Reveille. In the afternoon a breakdown in communication prevented us from having a sound<br />
check at both ANZAC Cove and Lone Pine as we were on a tight time frame to get the Jazz<br />
Group and Boss back to Cannaklie for the <strong>Australian</strong> Embassy ANZAC Day reception that<br />
evening.<br />
ANZAC Day commenced for us at about 2359 with unwelcomed shake from reception, as we<br />
needed to be at our own hired ferry by 0100 to try and beat the traffic across to the Cove.<br />
A trait that came to light as we arrived at ANZAC cove at about 0300 on ANZAC morning was<br />
that if you tell an Aussie not to do something, it will only make them want to do it more!<br />
The forecast “low key” 2004 dawn ceremony was expected to have around a 5000 person<br />
attendance, which shortly after, reports swelled to 8000. Nothing was to prepare us for the<br />
14 to 15 thousand die hard pilgrims forming a living carpet on the grassed areas in front of<br />
the ANZAC memorial site.<br />
<strong>Royal</strong> <strong>Australian</strong> <strong>Navy</strong> Band: A Musical Voyage