I wouldn't exactly describe the Gallipoli peninsula as "a place to visit", except for those like myself with a particular interest in the disastrous 1915 attempt to control the Dardanelles. Be that as it may, last month I was one of 10,000 Australasians who sat up all night at Anzac Cove, waiting for the dawn and thinking of our forefathers who came ashore 100 years ago. I was lucky enough to spend several days on the peninsula, visiting the battlefields and the cemeteries, most of them hacked into the appalling terrain where both Turks and Anzacs died in their thousands. As always, the Commonwealth War Graves commission does a great job maintaining the cemeteries; the first photo is of irises in the cemetery on the beach at Anzac Cove.
I had not appreciated that beyond the steep cliffs and rough ground lies the Maidos plain, still farmland today, with fields of rapeseed, olive groves and fruit trees. Shepherds graze their sheep with dogs keeping a close eye on them. The second photo is of a Judas tree Cercis siliquastrum on the road to Anzac Cove, while the olive tree is silhouetted against the sky at the temple of Apollo at Assos, where we stayed.
And finally, in Istanbul it was tulip time - they were everywhere. Not sure however that I can forgive the combination of pink peonies and scarlet tulips in the Topkapi palace gardens, even if the tulips were lily-flowered. The peonies however were fabulous - not something I can grow here, as we don't get the winter chilling.