Thessaloniki to Canakkale

As Trusted House-sitters it is sometimes not a great idea to take Australia 🇦🇺 with us. Australia is the nickname for our caravan 😂. So in this case we left Australia in Thessaloniki, Greece. We needed to get some repairs done anyway, so found a great caravan repair centre close to the airport. It was a bugger trying to find it as the GPS coordinates were incorrect. Anyway after Fabian got over her stressing out syndrome we meet this helpful Greek gentleman while I was scratching my head at the side of the road. It wasn’t long before he had us back on the right track. Australia is now all safely tucked away and with a list of repairs relayed to the service manager, we headed into our hotel in Thessaloniki.

Thessaloniki, Greece

Like all Greek cities, Thessaloniki’s history drifts back to before 300BC when King Cassander of Macedon (Early Greeks) named it after his wife, Thessaloniki, a half-sister to Alexander the Great. The Romans ruled for a while after that, then lots of others through the middle ages before it became part of the Ottoman empire. Did you know that by 1519 the Jewish population in Thessaloniki grew to 54%? It is said that the Ottomans allowed this to happen to keep the Greeks out. Only took about 300 years but the Greeks came back fighting and were able to get rid of the Ottomans. The Greek War of Independence was fought from 1821 to 1829. They were helped by the UK, France, and Russia.

Another misfortunes to hit the city was in 1917 when the city experienced a devastating fire that wiped out most of the old city leaving 72,000 people homeless. In WWII the Italians and Nazis invaded and in 1941 the Nazis commenced forcing the Jewish people into a ghetto near the railroad. On 15 March 1943, they began the deportation of the city’s Jews to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. Most were immediately sent to the gas chambers. Of the 45,000 Jews deported to Auschwitz, only 4% survived. Such a very sad history of the Jews when Hitler was in power.

Today Thessaloniki is a beautiful and modern city as you can see from the photos. We only spent one night in the city but enjoyed two great meanders, evening and morning. A stroll along the waterfront at sunset is spectacular as you can see the mountains of the Aliakmonas National Park across the bay.

Road Trip to Canakkale

Forty-five minutes to get out of Thessaloniki as the traffic was horrendous. It wasn’t helped by street closures for road works. Such a relief to hit the motorway. We had some breakfast prior to leaving so we didn’t need to stop until we arrived at the Greek-Turkey border.

We exited Greek immigration easy enough and found a great duty-free shop in no man’s land. Got our Bushmills Irish mist and a bottle of Gin to keep us dizzy till the end of the house sit. We were both a little apprehensive as we waited to pass the Turk Immigration post. We needed travel documents for just about everything because Turkey is not in Schengen (not part of the EU open borders). Our documentation requirements included a three-month visa, EU proof of CV19 inoculation, a Turk health online declaration, proof of ownership of our car, and passports. A sigh of relief when they let us pass.

Next Stop Anzac Cove

The first thing we noticed driving in Turkey was how cheap the fuel was. A litre was 0.73 Euros. Compared to 1.40 Euros a litre in other EU countries we visited. Very happy that our fuel bill over the next three months is reduced by 50%. Next is that the Turkish drivers can be rather erratic. Every country has its own road rules but basic courtesy on the road is hit and miss. There seems to be a need to get past whatever is in front of you by whatever means, and to beep you if you don’t start moving forward at the red light just before it turns green

We have already posted our visit to Anzac Cove as my son duly told me “Your posts are not in order Dad”. Yes, I know Tommy-son. I just get excited with those I really like so I post them straight away. We did complete a small detour on our way to Canakkale to visit this important WWII Memorial. The visit was a very sad and emotional journey taking us back to that time some 100+ years ago. Many good men died on both sides. There are no winners in war.

Canakkale

As we drove down to catch the ferry to take us over the Dardanelles Strait to Canakkale, we sighted this new suspension bridge under construction, see pics. This will be the longest suspension bridge in the world when finished at over two miles long.

The only way to get across to Canakkale at the moment is by ferry. It leaves Kilitbahir on the Gallipoli peninsular every thirty minutes, costing three Euros. While we waited we bought a couple of Barbecued Corn Cob’s at 1 Euro each, yummy. Very popular in Turkey.

Canakkale offers lots to see and experience for the visitor. It is centrally placed overlooking the Dardanelles Straights to visit Anzac Cove and also the archaeological site of Troy. There are also two Turkish WWII monuments that are definitely worth a visit. Epic Promotion Center at Anzac Cove and the Çanakkale Martyrs Memorial. Both are in memory of the Turkish soldiers who died in WWII. Finally the Cimenlik Castle and Military Maritime in the township is not to be missed.