Middle East - Anthony Ham [468]
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ECEABAT (MAYDOS)
0286 / pop 5500
Just over the Dardanelles from Çanakkale, Eceabat (Maydos) is a small, easy-going waterfront town with the best access to the main Gallipoli battlefields.
Ferries dock by the main square, Cumhuriyet Meydanı, which has hotels, restaurants, ATMs, a post office, bus company offices and dolmuş and taxi stands. Like most of the peninsula, Eceabat is swamped with students and tour groups at weekends from April to mid-June and in late September.
Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Boss I ( 814 1464; www.heyboss.com; Cumhuriyet Meydanı 14; s/d/tr TL20/40/60; ) Behind its clapboard facade, this small, narrow place is as cheap and basic as you’ll find here. Opt for a corner room or one facing the water (eg No 1) to get more space. It’s no surprise that the same management run Hotel Boss II (Mehmet Akif Sokak), which charges the same rates, and the pricier Aqua Boss Hotel (İstiklal Caddesi).
TJs Hotel ( 814 2458; www.anzacgallipolitours.com; Cumhuriyet Meydanı 2/A; dm/s/d TL15/50/70; ) With a commanding central position, the former Eceabat Hotel has rooms to suit every budget, from basic hostel bunk rooms upwards. The Ottoman-style rooftop bar has regular live events.
Hotel Crowded House ( 814 1565; www.crowdedhousegallipoli.com; Huseyin Avni Sokak 4; dm/s/d/tr TL20/35/50/69; ) Eceabat’s newest backpacker caravanserai, named after the antipodean band rather than the state of the accommodation, is housed in a four-storey building near the dock.
Liman Restaurant ( 814 2755; İstiklal Caddesi 67; mains TL6-15; 10am-12.30am) At the southern end of the waterfront, this is considered to be Eceabat’s best fish restaurant; its covered terrace is a delight in all weather.
Getting There & Away
Long-distance buses pass through Eceabat on the way from Çanakkale to İstanbul (TL30, five hours). There are frequent ferry services to Çanakkale (from TL2, 25 minutes).
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GALLIPOLI (GELİBOLU) Peninsula
0286
Antipodeans and many Britons won’t need an introduction to Gallipoli; it is the backbone of the ‘Anzac legend’ in which an Allied campaign in 1915 to knock Turkey out of WWI and open a relief route to Russia turned into one of the war’s greatest fiascos. Some 130,000 men died, a third from Allied forces and the rest Turkish.
Today the Gallipoli battlefields are peaceful places, covered in brush and pine forests. But the battles fought here nearly a century ago are still alive in many memories, both Turkish and foreign, especially Australians and New Zealanders, who view the peninsula as a place of pilgrimage. The Turkish officer responsible for the defence of Gallipoli was Mustafa Kemal (the future Atatürk); his victory is commemorated in Turkey on 18 March. On Anzac Day (25 April), a dawn service marks the anniversary of the Allied landings.
The easiest way to see the battlefields is with your own transport or on a minibus tour from Çanakkale or Eceabat with Hassle Free Tours ( 213 5969; www.hasslefreetour.com; Anzac House Hostel, Çanakkale; TL45-55), Trooper Tours ( 217 3343; www.troopertours.com; Yellow Rose Pension, Çanakkale; TL55) or TJs Tours ( 814 3121; www.anzacgallipollitours.com; TJs Hotel, Eceabat; TL45). With a tour you get the benefit of a guide who can explain the battles as you go along.
Most people use Çanakkale or Eceabat as a base for exploring Gallipoli. Car ferries frequently cross the straits from Çanakkale to Eceabat (from TL2). From Eceabat, take a dolmuş or a taxi to the Kabatepe Information Centre & Museum on the western shore of the peninsula.
Some travellers prefer to join an organised tour from İstanbul.
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TROY (Truva)
0286
Of all the ancient sites in Turkey, the remains of the great city of Troy are among the least impressive; you’ll have to use your imagination. However, it’s an important stop for history buffs, and if you have read Homer’s Iliad, the ruins have a romance few