Yesterday the mobile contingent left Canakkale and went the short distance
over to the Gallipoli Peninsular, crossing the Dardanelles by ferry.
Eight of us remained to work on three disabled bikes in the hotel car
park. When Lang and Hub stripped Lang's bike they found a bolt had come
loose in the gear fly wheel. Fortunately it had not caused any severe
damage and did not need an engine change . Never the less it was major
job which took all day to fix. At the end of the day everyone was tired
so we decided to stay another night in Canakkale.
This is an area steeped in military history, and to us Australians
Gallipoli obviously has very special significance.
On the peninsular hillside opposite Canakkale gigantic letters spell out
the first few words of a poem commemorating the stuggle at Gallipoli in
1915.
The translation is
Traveller, halt! The soil you heedlessly tread once witnessed the end of
an era.
Listen! In this quiet mound there once beat the heart of a nation.
Bev
