Memories from Turkey
Soldiers landing at Gallipoli depicted in The landing at Anzac, April 25, 1915, by Charles Dixon.
|
I was 15 from Australia, on holiday in Turkey with my family. We were near Gallipoli, a significant place for Australians and New Zealanders as it's where many WW1 soldiers lost their lives.
It was mid afternoon and I was having a nap in the hotel. My dad came in and said, 'I don't want to worry you, but it looks as though someone has flown a plane into the World Trade Centre.' We went down to the hotel bar where everyone was watching it unfold on TV. People were lending the American guests their phones to call home and the hotel staff were letting them use their computers to email. My dad called his friends back in Australia (which would have cost a small fortune then) and my mum ordered a gin from the bar - something I had never seen her do before. At one point I went to get some food from a corner store. The streets were quiet as everyone was glued to their TVs. The guy at the counter of the store didn't speak English but gestured to his TV when I walked in and shook his head really sadly. - A. D. Sherman |