Canakkale, Gallipoli and Troy

Our ferry from Istanbul was very comfortable indeed. It even had a play area and Cafe Nero on board which, given how far our Wellington coffee standards have slipped in the past six years (soon to be regained!) was a treat. Two hours later we were across the Sea of Marmara in Bandirma hunting for a bus to take us the remaining 2.5 hours to Canakkale. With a bit of help from friendly locals, we were at the ticket office and on a minibus to the main bus terminal in no time.

Buses are not our favourite mode of transport, especially over longer distances with Eleanor and Leo, but the inter-city ones here are great; air conditioned coaches with airline-style seats, a seat-back TV screening loads of channels including Cartoon Network and children's movies in Turkish (this doesn't bother Eleanor and Leo who in London often watched Peppa Pig in Welsh; 'but I love Welsh'!) and a man who brings around tea, coffee, juice and snacks. So far, we have found Turkey very straightforward to navigate on public transport.

Canakkale is a lovely relaxed seaside city, across from the Gallipoli Peninsula. We all liked it instantly and it has become one of our favourite stops of the trip so far.

There were plenty of street cats for Eleanor and Leo to bother from a distance (the distinction we have created is 'house cats' are cared for so you can pat them, but 'street cats' might make you sick so you can't), a good playground and a pleasant waterfront with plenty of restaurants as well as the wooden horse from the 2004 movie Troy.

We decided the easiest way to see Gallipoli was on a tour, so booked it, despite reservations about distracting others in the group. It worked out just fine. Eleanor and Leo enjoyed the boat ride to Eceabat and were remarkably good on the bus. The others on the tour were nice people and very patient. Adrian and I both missed portions of the guide's commentary as we played/supervised our way around the locations, but enjoyed the day hugely.

It was a moving experience to see the now peaceful place where so many New Zealanders and Australians were lost and to visit some of the memorials and cemeteries. The landing point was absolute madness with huge cliffs pretty much straight off the beach. While it would be a special experience to be at an ANZAC day service there, we enjoyed seeing it a a quieter time. The Turks are already preparing for the influx of visitors to mark the 100th anniversary of the landings in 2015.

Our other day trip from Canakkale was to Troy. We debated whether to go at all as we'd heard the ruins are very ruined and that the most interesting thing is the giant replica wooden horse (D, you were spot on with your description - it is in large part a pile of rocks!), but having watched the movie the night before and for reasons of general historical interest (as well as having few alternatives), we decided we couldn't be in the area and not stop by.

In the end, we had a great morning. The ruins are undeveloped, yet interesting. They have discovered remains of buildings as far back as Troy 1 (of nine era of Troy), which was constructed in about 2500 BC. As we had the place virtually to ourselves, Eleanor and Leo could explore at their own pace, although we did have to be careful as there are few fences and the odd rotten wooden board on the pathways. Climbing into the horse was a highlight, as were clambering over rocks and finding a stream full of frogs. It was definitely worth going in the morning; as we had our lunch, we watched about 15 tour buses roll into the car park. Without the solitude it wouldn't have been nearly as rewarding a visit.

After our return, and another trip to the playground including a bounce on the nearby trampolines, we watched the sun set over the Gallipoli Peninsula while eating dinner on the waterfront and packed up for the following day's 4.5 hour bus journey to Bergama.