Anzac Day: A tale from Gallipoli
Posted on: 25 Apr 2012
Written by: Ngaire Ackerley
Every year April 25th stands out for most New Zealand and Australian people. It marks Anzac Day, the day that the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli, Turkey in 1915 and fought for 8-9 months as part of the Great War.
The tale of Gallipoli is a sad one, where over 120,000 men died fighting in battles. As a New Zealander, April 25th is always a day that I spend reflecting on both the past and present troubles that the world faces. Some say 1915 was a time that helped foster New Zealand’s sense of national identity, but at the cost of so many lives. As this blog post goes live, dawn ceremonies will have been held over the last 12 hours in various locations around the globe to commemorate the soldiers that fought in Gallipoli, both those who survived and those who died.
Recently I travelled to Gallipoli in Turkey, to see where these brave men fought, to try and put those historic moments into perspective. Today, the scene is still a sad and moving experience, with war memorials found throughout Gallipoli and Anzac Cove. Although a terribly sad landscape for Anzac visitors, it can still be seen as a beautiful resting place today.
Without going into too much of the history (I’m not a historian), I’ve decided to share my photographs of Gallipoli to mark Anzac Day this year.
Lest we forget
For more of Ngaire’s photography of Turkey visit her photography travel portfolio set in Turkey »
« Back to Blog
