Australians, New Zealanders gather at Anzac Cove for dawn service

CANAKKALE, Türkiye/ISTANBUL

Visitors from Australia and New Zealand arrived at Anzac Cove in Canakkale in northwest Türkiye early Friday to participate in the dawn service commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign.

Attendees waited for the service while watching documentaries about the Gallipoli campaign, which lasted from February 1915 and January 1916 during World War I, on a giant screen set up at the ceremony area, huddled in sleeping bags and blankets.

Chris Brant from Australia told Anadolu that he came to pay respect to his great uncle who was wounded while fighting in Gallipoli in 1915.

Another attendee, Jim Phillips, also from Australia, reflected on the lessons of war, suggesting that standing on the battlefields more than a century later underlined the importance of learning from history.

Australian Davina Tuda noted the importance of attending the commemoration ceremony, saying that watching the documentary reminded her of a reality people don't often think about and what exactly happened there.

Anzac stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps that fought in Canakkale in 1915 and later in the Middle East and Europe alongside their allies.

Anzac Day commemorates the anniversary of Australian and New Zealand soldiers' landing in Gallipoli on April 25, 1915.