SCUBA DIVING – HMS MAJESTIC BATTLESHIP

Commemoration

In Australia & New Zealand, ANZAC DAY commemoration features solemn ‘dawn services’, a tradition started in Albany, Western Australia on 25 April 1923 & now held at war memorials around both countries, accompanied by thoughts of those lost at war to the ceremonial sounds of the Last Post on the bugle. The fourth stanza of Laurence Binyon’s poem For the Fallen (known as the Ode of Remembrance) is often recited.

ITINERARY :

24 April 2024, ………………………………………..Istanbul – Eceabat

It is important that you inform us one week prior to the start of your package if you intend to forfeit your bus trip and intend getting to Eceabat on your own from another destination. We ask that people who have already stated this in previous emails still contact us one week prior to confirm their plans.

Pick-up in Istanbul : 06:00 : Meet your bus group in front of the Hagia Sofia Mosque (pink mosque), opposite the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet, Istanbul. Look for our representative holding the TJs TOURS sign.

Bus times are essential. The buses can wait for no-one.

Please be on your bus at least 10 minutes prior to stated times for immediate departure.

The offsiders will mark your attendance for boarding purposes.

07:00 Depart for Eceabat from Istanbul.

There will be a comfort stop half way at a station/cafeteria, where you can buy lunch.

13:00 Enter the town of Eceabat where we will grab our Gallipoli goodies bag.

Lunch in Eceabat.

After lunch showings of Gallipoli documentary, “The Fatal Shore” & the movie “Gallipoli”.

19:00 Join the convoy of TJs TOURS buses for departure to the Dawn Service site where we will grab a space in the large crowd and wait, listening to the pre dawn program.

25th April 2024, ………………………………………………ANZAC Day Services

05:30 Dawn Service commences as the sun breaks the skyline behind the Turkish Sphinx.

07:30 While waiting for your bus to transfer you to the next service you can eat breakfast on the grass with the group or feel free to tell your leader that you want to go exploring; take your breakfast pack & walk the ridges & old trenches to the next service. Australian &/or New Zealand National services. (Service times for these have yet to be released)

Late afternoon buses depart for Eceabat, where you will check into your accommodation, have a shower & a well-deserved sleep.

19:30 Screening of the Gallipoli movie.

Overnight in Eceabat / Canakkale (BB)

26th April 2024, ………………………………………………….Gallipoli Peninsula

08:30 – 10:30 Breakfast awaits.

12:00 – Lunch in Eceabat

13:00 Depart from here you’ll drive to the ANZAC Battlefield area to start an emotional & memorable tour.

• Kabatepe War Museum & Simulation Centre
• Beach Cemetery (John Simpson’s Grave)
• ANZAC Cove
• Ari Burnu (First ANZAC landing place)
• Lone Pine Cemetery (Australian memorial)
• Johnston’s Jolly (Walk in the ANZAC trenches) – view Shrapnel Valley
• The Nek (Light Horse scene depicted in the Gallipoli) & Walker’s Ridge
• Chunuk Bair (Main New Zealand memorial)

Return to TJs TOURS Agency & Hotel in Eceabat / Canakkle

Overnight in Eceabat / Canakkale (BB)

27th April 2024, ………………………………………………………..Granduer Tour

07.00   Breakfast at your accommodation

07.30   Depart for full day tour

08.00   Ferry crossing from Eceabat to Çanakkale over the famous Dardanelle waters.

08.30   Arrival in Çanakkale. Drive to the site of Troy, 36km to the south.

TROY : Tour the historic home of the Trojan Wars. Here you will see the remains of 9 city levels destroyed over time by both human and natural disasters. You will hear the stories of the myth and the history behind the ongoing excavations.

Depart for ASSOS : A traditional, stone-house village, set upon a mountainside with a beautiful harbour down the bottom, overlooking the island of Lesvos. Here we will tour the Temple of Athena on the highest point of the mountain and have Turkish tea at a local Çay (tea) House which has an extraordinary set of coffee tables to sit at.

Depart for BALABANLI  VILLAGE :TJ’s home village. Here you will wander the traditional village seeing sights such as the old wheat crushing wheel and the thatched summer houses for the sheep.

Drive to BABAKALE, the most western point of Asian Turkey. Visit the last castle built during the Ottoman empire in 1723.

Next stop –TEMPLE of APOLLO SMINTHEUS in the town of Gulpinar.

This temple was built by the people of the Troad as a testament to Apollo, king of Tenedos and patron god of Chryse (known now as Bozcaada and Gulpinar) for siding with the Anatolians in the Trojan war. The figured elements here depicting the Trojan war as decribed by Homer makes this place unique.

Roadside stop to view TUZLA DAGI, an active volcanic mountain with a surface of salt stretching out from its base which has been collected for years by locals to use in their cooking.

Drive to ALEXANDRIA TROAS, once considered by Constantine to be named the capital of the Roman empire, only a few structures exist today, including a ruined bath, gymnasium complex and a recently uncovered stadium. But these attest to its former importance as a significant port for traveling between Anatolia and Europe.

Return to your Hotel in Eceabat / Canakkale. Overnight (BB)

28,29,30 April & 01 May 2024, WW1 GALLIPOLI WRECK DIVING – 4 DAYS – 2 DIVES/DAY

Highlight dives – Diving on the HMS Majestic battleship

ACCOMMODATION in Eceabat / Canakkale. (BB)              

DIVE SITE INFORMATION :

There are 216 shipwrecks in and around the Gallipoli peninsula.

These wrecks cover a large variety of sea vessels, except Gallions.

Dive depths range from 7m to 30m. Normal dive to static line dives can be undertaken.

02 May 2024 : Travel to Istanbul

07.30 Breakfast at your accommodation in Canakkale

08.30 Depart your accommodation to cross the Dardanelles to Eceabat, onward to Istanbul.

09.30 Depart your accommodation for Istanbul

OR

08.00 Breakfast at your accommodation in Eceabat.

09.30 Depart your accommodation for Istanbul

Drive back to Istanbul, stopping halfway for a half hour rest stop/bathroom break.

Here you can buy snacks or a meal (not included in tour price)

The estimated travel time will be approximately 4 ½ hours.

Overnight in Istanbul. (BB)

03 May 2024 : Full Day Guided Tour of Istanbul’s Old city                              

07.30   Buffet breakfast @ your accommodation

09:00  Depart for day tour.

Visiting: Topkapi Palace and harrem, St.Sophia Museum, Blue Mosque and Roman Hippodrome.

Lunch included.

17.00 Approximate finish time

19.30 – Farewell Bosporus Dinner Cruise.

Cruise Includes: Dinner, Unlimited local Turkish drinks & Cultural Dance Show

Overnight in Istanbul. (BB)

04 May 2024 : Grand Bazaar & Spice Market  –  Shopping around the Old City                        

08.30 Buffet breakfast at your accommodation

10.00 The walking tour starts from your accommodation

Visit to Grand Bazaar, Spice Market and Shopping in the old City.

You will be advised by your guide for getting back to your hotel on your own.

Overnight in Istanbul. (BB)

05 May 2024 : HOTEL TO AIRPORT

Breakfast at your accommodation.

This morning, a representative from TJ’s Tours will transfer you to Istanbul International Airport, according to your flight details.

End of Tour.

Tour  Inclusions :

• All transportation, non-smoking vehicle
• All entrance fees
• Fully guided tours
• WW1 GALLIPOLI WRECK DIVING – 4 DAYS – 2 DIVES/DAY
• English-speaking guide.
• 11 Breakfasts
•   7 Lunches
• Farewell Bosporus Dinner Cruise
• 10 Nights Accommodation (BB)

Tour  Exclusions :

• Evening meals and drinks
• Lunch on return to Istanbul day
• Flights

TJS TOURS PRICE : £1.875  GBP PER/PERSON.    

WARNING!!

There are very few toilets in the battlefield area. Go before tour!
There are also very few bins so please collect your rubbish & put it back on the bus so we can dispose of it responsibly later on.
Take your bathers/togs/cossies/swimmers for a swim at lunchtime when & if time & weather permits.
There are no shops at the battlefields, so remember to buy water & nibblies before you leave Eceabat.
Remember to take sunscreen & a hat if you’re not fond of direct sunlight as there is minimal shade available. Shorts are fine to wear on the peninsula but remember to wear sensible shoes as you will be walking on uneven ground at times & there are snakes in the area.

PLEASE NOTE
Times change according to the season & weather conditions.