As the town of Eceabat on the Gallipoli Peninsula prepares for the influx of thousands of New Zealanders and Australians for this weekend's commemoration of the Battle of Anzac Cove, the Turkish locals have acknowledged the significant place the WW1 battle has had in their national history.
Tour guide and local authority on the 1915 battle, Aykut Degre told our reporter Dean Nathan about the long tradition of war the Turkish people have endured since the Trojan War in the 13th century, 'That's known to be the first known war of humans here at this waterway, while Gallipoli is the last one which we had in history here and both became important for the history' said Mr Degre.
60,000 Turks lost their lives in the Gallipoli campaign and while they fought for the Central Powers, the Turkish respected the valour displayed by our New Zealand and Australian troops, “The same feelings we do not have against some of the others who are here. But it still keeps going… this strange friendship to respect each other or even at some stage help each other, even if you are fighting against each other.”