nzgirl Stephanie had an emotional time in Turkey, from seeing Gallipoli to visiting the grave of a man who fought beside her Great-Grandfather as well as soaking up the history and meeting the locals; check out her postcard to see what else she got up to...

Dear nzgirl,

I'm sending you this postcard from...
Turkey, where I am being stalked for my blonde hair and apparently visible inability to haggle, but still loving every minute of it.

My first thought when I stepped off the plane... 
Actually, I want to start with while I was still on the plane. When the plane landed, everyone started clapping ferociously like Mozart himself had just finished playing. I thought maybe there was some sort of engine malfunction I didn't know about, but they did it again when we landed back in Berlin, too. I have no idea what that's about, but it's entertaining.

Outside the airport (after hearing someone very hilariously attempting to say my name over the loudspeaker – I recommend paging yourself just for the laugh) I was struck by the amazing natural coastline in Istanbul, which seems so weird contrasted against the decrepit buildings, which in turn seem so weird next to the amazing structures that are mosques and underground cisterns. The city is a mishmash of nature, architectural beauty, and something bordering on a slum, and is also the only city in the world that is half on one continent and half on another (Asia and Europe – a bit of added info for those playing at home).

My craziest night was...
Sleeping out under the stars in -2°C waiting for the dawn service at Anzac Cove. It is something I would seriously recommend to any girl who calls herself a Kiwi. I learnt so much, have a newfound over-the-top bordering-on-restraining-order-required love of our friends, the Aussies, a huge respect for the Turkish, who also lost shockingly large numbers of soldiers defending themselves against us, and an indescribable gratitude for the New Zealand armed services, who give/risk their lives to protect the freedoms that we enjoy every day. I can't believe I have never attended a dawn service before (sleep-ins on a public holiday are so appealing) but will definitely be attending one every ANZAC Day for the rest of my life.

But, if you're not into that, smoking apple tobacco out of a Turkish water pipe and drinking local vodka on a cushion under a blanket outside at 4am in Istanbul with strangers who don't mind inviting the feral stray cats to join you is pretty cool too.

The coolest thing I saw was...
Chunuk Bair, where the New Zealand monument is in Gallipoli. Be warned - it is a bit of a hike up there for the New Zealand service and it gets pretty hot waiting for the service to start, but once that national anthem plays and you see someone do a haka (someone always will) you start crying like a small child and completely forget that you are in actual danger of spontaneously combusting from the heat. I also managed to find the grave of a friend my great-grandfather fought with, so had a bit of a hangout with him and wondered if my great-grandfather himself had helped to carry his dead body.
 
And outside of Gallipoli, the ancient ruins in Pergamon are pretty incredible. You know how in New Zealand if something has the tiniest bit of historical significance a massive mesh fence is erected around it? And if something has the slightest gradient we are forbidden from standing too close to the edge for fear of tripping and stubbing a toe? Not so in Turkey. Climb all over the ancient ruins, throw yourself down the steepest ancient theatre in the world, pretend you are Zeus - it's all good.

It's so different to home because...
It has a little thing called history. Modern history, ancient history - you can find it all in Turkey. It's like home because the landscape is so beautiful, but they have that experience that we haven't quite had enough time to accumulate yet.

I'd like to come back next time because...
I want to spend more time at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul (think fakes of every designer on the planet so good that I doubt even the designers themselves would be able to tell the difference - book out at least a day for this puppy).

 I'm keen to rectify the gross oversight that was missing out Pamukkale, which is comparable to what our pink and white terraces would have looked like before they exploded (except these ones are just white). I would also love to do the Gallipoli thing over and over again - it really stirs some sort of emotion and national pride in you that you couldn't have dreamed was there. I came back to Berlin and promptly bought a New Zealand flag, and now I'm wondering if people will think I'm weird if I start wearing it like a cape with my every day attire.

I'd recommend this place to you...
If you don't mind shedding a few tears and you want to really appreciate what that entire lost generation of New Zealand boys did for us, and what thousands after them have continued to do. If you want to see the exact spot where New Zealand lost its innocence, this is the place. If you like amazing food and even more amazingly friendly people, pay a visit. Unfortunately, the cry-fest might resume when you realise even the Turkish Lira is stronger than the New Zealand Dollar, but that's a whole different kind of pain.

Love
Stephanie x