Turkey day 3

Today was to be a LOOONNGG day of traveling! We woke up and got on the bus and drove until lunch! This is some of the beautiful countryside that I saw through the bus window. I absolutely love long car rides through beautiful scenery. 

We had lunch in Gelibolu, right along the Aegean Sea!!! Look at how beautiful the water is!

A cute pic with my Turkey roommate, India! We had some good bonding time as roommates! She is an amazing girl!

As per usual, here's a picture with my buddy Michelle. Not quite sure what my hands are doing. :)

We had fresh bread and lentil soup for every meal in Turkey. Oh man, it was some of the most delicious stuff I've ever eaten. I LOVE bread!!

Roommate picture on the  balcony of the restaurant, Aegean Sea in the background! I love these girls :)

This is the view of the city (what city? Not sure--we just passed through it for lunch) from the balcony of the restaurant.

A picture of Erica Larsen and me! She has lovely hobbit hair :)

Panorama of the Aegean Sea.

Long bus rides can be grueling. People come up with very interesting ways to sleep. Kirstin is showing one of the many successful sleeping positions. :)

Galipoli Battlefield Memorial

We didn't get to stay here for very long, due to a change of plans, which was really unfortunate. This is the site of a famous WWI battle in which the French and British decided to attack the Dardanelles to open sea passage to Russia. The attack involved many soldiers from ANZAC, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The attack was poorly planned though, and the battle lasted for many months and had enormous casualties on both sides. Our guide said that there were 250,000 deaths on each side, totaling 500,000 deaths. I learned from one of the other students that the Turks didn't have enough men to supply the army, so they employed old men and young boys to fight. There were boys as young as 14 who were given guns and uniforms to fight in battle. There were entire high schools who had all of the boys in their school killed. Turkish schoolchildren learn about the heroic deeds of their countrymen and Turkish martyrs who died defending their nation. The Ottomans declared victory when the Allied forces withdrew at the end of 1915. It can be said that the national identities of three countries--Australia, New Zealand, and Turkey--were born in the Battle of Galipoli. 

I feel bad that we only spent like 5 minutes there. Brother Judd talked to us about the Church's view on war that came out during WWII. It was sad to think of faithful latter-day saints fighting each other on opposite sides of the battlefield, but it was impressive to me that the Church first recognizes that latter-day saints will be loyal to their own countries. I think it's really admirable that the Church doesn't usually take sides on political issues, but looks forward to the unity that will come with Christ ruling as king. War in any form always breaks my heart, but I can never do anything about it but mourn. However, something that Brother Judd brought up about the Church's declaration on war really brought me a lot of peace. It said something to the effect that the world will have true peace in Christ, and that's the only way to receive it. It reminded me of one of my favorite scriptures. It seems to pop up again and again the more I learn about the world, the more I see the suffering that people cause each other. Mormon 9: 25-26

 "My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever. And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the right had of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you forever. Amen."  

We could see Greece from where we stood--so close, but so far away! I was tempted to try my swimming skills and see if I could make it.

Can you see the face in the rock? Egyptian soldiers fought here, and they found it similar to the Sphinx in Egypt. Australian forces had been sent to boot camp in Cairo, I think, so this was kind of a familiar sight for them, too. But I'm not as sure about my facts as I am about my faulty memory :)

Greece: so close, yet so far away. One of the lands of my childhood dreaming remains yet to be visited! I WILL see this country!

The place was beautiful and serene and quiet, as if nothing had happened there. We didn't go to the actual memorial and grave site  but the spirit of sacrifice was there. I really am grateful for those who serve their country out of loyalty and patriotism and willingness. I am also sympathetic toward those who do not have a choice as to whether they serve or not, because I can't imagine how difficult it would be to give up your body to a cause you don't have a choice in. BUT. We can look forward to the peace that Christ will bring, peace that everyone can partake of, whatever time period they lived in. I learn about the Atonement daily, and my understanding of the act is always overwhelmed. But I have faith in Jesus Christ, that He can deliver all that He promises. Peace will always be found in His arms.

Brother Jackson, on the bus ride, showed us his styling sunglasses cover thing. He is such a funny guy. He for reals wears them like this when they're not in use :)

We took a ferry boat across the Dardanelles to get to the European side of Turkey. The country of Turkey spans two continents--Europe and Asia. I love seeing the Turkish nationalism everywhere--there was a huge Turkish flag on the mountain

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Istanbul!! :)

Our ferry was really neat. We got to drive our bus onto the boat itself and everything we had got shipped over to the other side. I've never been on a boat big enough to carry buses!

I was really tired by this point! I asked someone to take a picture of me on the ferry, but I yawned in the middle of the picture. At least the picture is an accurate portrayal of the event, if not attractive :)

More nationalism. I'm fairly sure that this is memorializing Galipoli, cause the site is quite near. Or maybe it's just supporting Turkish troops in general. Either way, it's really neat to see a country that stands behind its soldiers.

There were HUGE ships out on the strait! Giant carriers of who-knows-what! I wish that the sheer size of these ships could be conveyed, but all I have is a little picture.

We were living in Inception. Inside a bus on a boat, looking at the city. Picture of the water from inside the bus on a boat...it was weird feeling the waves rock while I was sitting on a bus. I'll stop talking about it. :)

The Trojan horse from the movie Troy! Can you see it? I thought I'd give you a little Eye Spy. Clue: you're looking at it head on. We didn't get to visit it IRL.

Troy

Okay, just the name sounds epic and magical. I've been dreaming about this place since I was little and I read all the myths about it! And since I've gotten older and explored the dense pages of The Iliad a little bit, I got even more excited to come here. Don't know the story of Troy? It is too much for me to tell, so here's a very in-depth, but clear, history of the story: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/clas101/troy.htm

A little of what we learned about the site itself: There are nine different settlement levels at Troy, the earliest dating to the Early Bronze Age (3000 BC). Historians think that the legendary Trojan War took place sometime in the Late Bronze Age. 

 

They have a replica of the Trojan horse on site, BUT they chose this day to renovate it. Ha ha ha, that's just my luck, right? :) The site is just a bunch of rocks, and there's no Trojan horse to stimulate the imagination. Good thing I've always been good at playing make-believe! I made the trip just as exciting and epic as I had imagined it would be.

These are the walls surrounding Troy!! It was around these walls that Achilles dragged the body of Hector after he defeated him in battle!

Troy used to be on the coast of the Aegean Sea, but the river flowing by the city has since deposited huge amounts of silt and filled up the cove. SO. All this lovely land that you see? It used to be the ocean. Troy was a lot closer, but now it's just a fertile plain. It lost its prominence as a trade city once the ports were far away. I didn't know a little river was powerful enough to do that! You can see the sea way off in the distance.

So this is pretty cool--this is a temple built to Athena! The remains of the temple are in the picture above, and what they thought the temple looked like is in the picture below. I love ancient temples, and I sometimes wish that they all still existed.  

A centipede!! Every time I see one, I think of Dan. He doesn't like them very much. :) 

You know, I'm not really sure why I took this picture. This is Troy, everyone. It's all in ruins, given back to Mother Earth. History reclaimed it's most legendary city. (Did that sound epic? I'm trying to make this really exciting for you :)

Some more ancient walls. Just giving you an authentic feel for how incredibly exciting the place was :)

This is a memorial built to the soldiers of Troy. I wish that our guide had said more about it, but she didn't. .Somewhere in the extensive history of Troy, someone thought to honor the people who fought for it. 

The remains of a street or something. Let's hear some "oohs" and "aahs!"

This is a ramp that once led up to the citadel. It kind of gives a sense of the kind of ramp that the Trojan Horse may have been rolled up. Cool. :)

All in all, Troy was a nice green field-ish thing. Good thing I have an active imagination!! :)

Our hotel for the night was right along the coast of the Aegean  Sea. I got to walk along the beautiful beach and see the sun set over the water. It was so beautiful and peaceful! We had some adventures, too--we weren't allowed to get into the water, but a couple people did. You know, cause they dropped their key in the water...or their flip flop fell off...or someone fell in...the call of the ocean is just too strong :)

There were tons of jellyfish that washed up on the beach! They were just these clear jelly like things...wow, I just realized how dumb that sentence was. Ahem. I guess they're called jellyfish for a reason, eh? I liked poking them with sticks. Wow, that sounded like I'm an evil torturer of animals. They were dead! At least, I think so. Can jellyfish survive for very long outside of water? Now I feel bad for maybe hurting them...Oh dear, I'm digging myself into a hole. I'm just going to say that I found a jellyfish on the beach--end of story. :)

No beach is complete without a handstand picture in the sunset! You wouldn't believe how many times we had to try to take this picture. I have LOTS of hilarious bloopers that you can see upon request :)

Sunset over the Aegean Sea :)

We had the CUTEST room ever! It was in a beach house, and we got the loft! It was tiny and cosy with a patio. I really loved it! I kind of want to have a studio or something in a loft when I get a house :)