Having
thoroughly enjoyed Istanbul it was time to move on to other parts of the
country; Record Drive and its 14th edition was to start. I had located the
cheapest car rental through CarJet, an aggregator, and the service provider
would be Cizgi. After breakfast at the comfortable Hotel Kupeli, we were ready
to leave for the Airport. Some may think it strange that we were to pick up the
car from the Airport. In fact, the airports are the best places to pick up and
drop a car because that is where the best deals come from. In fact, I had
delayed booking the car as much as I could thinking and hoping that I would be
able to locate a suitable car rental in the city. That was not to be and I was
advised by all I asked that the airport would be the best option. A ride to the
airport could have been avoided if I could rent in the city. However, knowing
that a good rental deal would be better than some inconvenience I went with the
airport deal from Cizgi, who had good reviews online
Thanks
to Derya we reached the International Airport without any hiccups. I had to
report to the Arrival Hall counter of the rental company to complete
formalities, and that is where the hassle lay. It took me quite some time to
get into the Arrivals enclosure without a valid ticket. Even after that I had
to go through security. The formalities did not take much time at the rental
counter. I paid up the balance and took the complete cover without any excess.
It cost us € 280 for 14 days, zero excess and free extra driver. I was given
clear directions to get to the pickup point, four floors beneath the Arrivals
Hall. I found that place soon enough, where a Dacia Sandero Stepway, from the
Renault stable, was waiting for me. When I had booked the car I was told it
would be a SEAT Ibiza or equivalent. The Sandero was the one for me for this
trip. Automatic, spacious and young, it had just 2400 km under its belt, the
car was just right for the fortnight. I took over the car after thorough
examination and getting a few FAQs answered by the guy who handed over the car.
These mostly stemmed from previous rental experiences. How do I open the fuel
tank? What type of fuel goes in? How do I pay highway tolls? What are the speed
limits? I was told that I would have to tank up immediately after leaving the pickup
point as the tank was empty!
By
10.30 am Hetal and I had settled in the car with the luggage and after taking
photos to kick start Record Drive. Within a short distance of leaving the
rental location we found a Total fuel station and pared in. I told the young
attendant to fill in diesel because I was told that the car took in diesel.
But, the attendant opened the fuel cover and showed me that the car took in
petrol! So much for FAQs. I opted for the cheapest petrol option of 95 Octane,
which was priced at 8.13 TL, roughly about Rs. 60. To be kept in mind is that
Turkey imports almost all its fuel and has very little refining capacity too.
In India we are told that imports are the reason for high fuel costs. Nothing
is further from the truth. Of course, the narrative changes - building toilets,
free vaccination, infrastructure development, and the stories go on.
The
road infrastructure in Turkey is impressive and well maintained. The highways
are 4 lanes each way with an emergency lane. No potholes or uneven surfacing.
The toll gates are automatic and one does not have to stop for the Tag to be
read. I didn't have to pay at the gates or top up the Tag. The toll amount was
to be paid when I returned the car. Apart from the highways, even those
equivalent to our state roads and municipal roads are surfaced and maintained
well. Another feature is that the highways are grid separated and has a maximum
speed limit of 120 kph. However, fast lane users were certainly above that
limit. I stayed well within it to appreciate the scenery and avoid fines.
Cameras were warned in advance. Other than the highways the speed limits varied
between 70 and 90 kph. Some of the roads hugged the beautiful Marmara sea
coast.
I set
the GPS to Gallipoli War Museum, about 275 km from Istanbul. The Gallipoli
Peninsula that has Aegean Sea to its west and the Dardanelles Strait to its
east was a major theatre of war during the First World War. The Gallipoli campaign
handed the Allies a costly defeat and the Ottoman forces won a pyrrhic victory.
They lost more than 120,000 lives here. ANZAC Day is a remembrance day observed
by Australians and New Zealanders for the heavy casualties they suffered in
this campaign. Many memorials to the fallen braves dot the Eceabat area of the
Peninsula, which is closest to the battlefields.
The
Gallipoli War Museum is a private collection and was closed at the time of our
visit. We took time to go around the Gallipoli Ferry Terminal. Prominent at the
entrance to the terminal is the bust of Piri Reis, a celebrated son of the
soil, born in Gallipoli in 1470. He was an expert seaman and cartographer and
is credited with having drawn the oldest map of America in 1513! The terminal
was awfully busy and there were long queues of freight trucks and passenger
vehicles waiting to get on to the ferries that operated between locations on
either side of the Dardanelles Strait. We could have taken a ferry from
Gallipoli to Canakkale, my destination for the day. Many yachts were anchored
in the small Marina. The waterfront promenade was quiet with many cafes dotting
it. After pottering around for a while and having a cheese sandwich and coffee
in one of the cafes we set out for the Canakkale Martyrs Monument at the end of
the Peninsula.
The
Monument commemorates the participation and sacrifice of more than 250,000
Turks who took part in the Gallipoli campaign between 1915 and 1916. Taking the
Dardanelles Strait was a strategy of the Allies to weaken the Ottoman support
to Axis powers. The resistance of the Ottoman force in Gallipoli and the
sinking of many British naval ships dealt a heavy blow the Allies. The
Commander of the Ottoman forces, Mustafa Kamal, earned his spurs in the
campaign. He is famously said to have told his soldiers who ran out of
ammunition,
"I do not order you to
attack, I order you to die". The Martyrs Monument overlooks the
Straits from the Hisarlik Hill. The Monument, opened in 1960, is so well
maintained that that itself is a tribute to those who sacrificed for their
motherland. Inside the Monument is an inscription from the Turkish National
Anthem written by Mehmet Akif Ersoy, which goes thus:
Do
not ignore the ground on which you have walked, It is
not ordinary soil. Reflect
on the thousands of people, who lie beneath Without
a shroud. You
are the son of a martyr – Do
not hurt your ancestor, Do
not give away this beautiful motherland, Even
if you have the whole world.
The
Kilitbahir Castle was built in 1463 along with its twin on the opposite shore
of the Dardanelles in Canakkale city, at its narrowest point to control and
protect the Straits. The bastion looks quite formidable and purposeful.
Unfortunately, the Castle was closed to visitors this day and hence, had to skip
the tour. There is a ferry terminal within a few meters of the Castle with
ferries operating between Kilitbahir and Canakkale almost every fifteen minutes
during the day. I took the very efficiently operated ferry where passengers are
charged 2TL and the car is charged 65TL for a one way trip.
As we
neared the Canakkale ferry terminal I was surprised to see that the hotel I had
booked was a hundred meters from the landing station. The hotel car park is
some distance away from the hotel, but that was efficiently handled by the
valet once the luggage was unloaded. The valet happened to be a young man doing
his final year of Civil Engineering degree who hopes to soon land a job in the
Gulf.
That
Canakkale is a student town is evident from the number of youngsters in pubs
and restaurants that dot the small town. There is vibrance in the air and the
narrow streets are full of laughing crowds and slow moving cars. Hetal and I
got into a less busy restaurant and had a meal of meatballs, pigeon pea curry
and rice. Of course, bread does not have to be ordered. They always appear at
the table.
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