17th March: Journey to Bergama

At around 1.30 p.m., after a last wander along Canakkale's seafront in the morning, we caught the bus south to Bergama. It crossed the fertile Anatolian plain, past row after row of olive trees, then wound its way up and back down the coastal hills. For an hour or two we drove alongside the beautiful Aegean coast, at times with the water only a metre from the road. The journey took just over 4 hours, plus a twenty minute pitstop, which was rather longer than the girl selling tickets had told us. She had also told us that we would be dropped slightly outside Bergama, but we hadn't realised that we would be deposited literally by the side of the highway. Thankfully we spotted a taxi waiting on the other side of the highway; the driver had clearly been expecting the bus because there was no other reason to be there. The driver freely agreed to use the meter, but it quickly became apparent that he was using some kind of higher rate; we didn't make a fuss because it simply wasn't worth it.

Old caravanserai in Canakkale

15th century fort across the Dardanelles

Lunch by Canakkale harbour

Ready to celebrate the sinking of British and French ships on 18th March 1915

Queue for the ferry to the Gallipoli peninsula

Scenery on the drive to Bergama

Driving alongside the Aegean

The drive into the centre of Bergama and the Akropolis Guest House was much further than we had anticipated, leaving us relieved that we had not decided to walk with our rucksacks. On the way we had a beautiful view of the Akropolis looming above the town, its stone blazing in the last light of the sun. The guest house was arranged around a pleasant courtyard, and the owner and housekeeper were very welcoming. We had a cup of tea with a very friendly Turkish guy who was catching the bus back to Ankara that evening. As we set off into the cold night to explore and find somewhere to eat, he accompanied us and pointed out the turn off towards the Akropolis, a few places to eat, the tourist office, and a hammam. The place we settled on for dinner served us a tasty mixed kebab, with succulent lamb, chicken, and beef. Back at the guest house we were exceedingly relieved to find that there was a very efficient heater in our room, which we turned on full blast while we worked on the blog before bed.