Monday, July 16, 2012

Gallipoli.

I didn't expect to be as moved as I was by the ANZAC Memorials at Gallipoli.

This was the Aussies and New Zealanders' Normandy.

What moved me the most for some reason was the portion of a speech on a stone wall by Ataturk (Father of the Turkish Republic) at the first site we stopped (and there are many.....):

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives...you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies (ANZAC troops) and the Mehmets (Ottoman troops) to us, where they lie, side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosum and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well."

War is majorly sucky. All around. Yet, we as humans keep warring. This struck me as a eloquent thing to say at a dedication to the enemy's fallen.

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