Thousands make trip to mark Gallipoli landing in Turkey

As dawn broke across the Aegean Sea yesterday, more than 10,000 Australians, New Zealanders and Turks gathered to sing hymns and pray for those lost in the World War I battle of Gallipoli, making the trip despite security concerns.

Every year, thousands of tourists mainly from Australia and New Zealand travel to the battlefields on the Gallipoli Peninsula to mark Anzac Day – the anniversary of the April 25, 1915, start of the battle that cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

This year, both governments warned their citizens not to go to Turkey for fear of terrorist attacks following suicide bombings in Istanbul in November.

"People came irrespective of the warning. The people wanted to come," said Lt. Chantal Llaora, an Australian military spokeswoman. She said between 10,000 and 12,000 people were present.

For the first time, Australian troops were barred from taking leave to attend the ceremonies because of security concerns.

"As dawn breaks, we cannot help but think of how those first Anzacs would have felt for many this would be a final act of sacrifice and service," Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill said as he addressed the crowds at the sunrise service.

He was referring to Australian and New Zealand volunteers who were known as Anzacs.

Gallipoli's Anzac Cove, where the dawn landings on the peninsula took place, is sacred to many Australians and New Zealanders who see it as a crucible of nationhood that was forged by the volunteer soldiers who fought in the battles there. Australian decorated Vietnam War veteran Dennis Rayner, 52, said he was "blown away by the turnout".

"It's magnificent," said Rayner from Bauff Point, Australia. "It's a pinnacle for any veteran of any war to be here and to walk where they (Anzacs) walked."

Despite the government warnings, Hill told the participants: "We must not be cowered by extremists."

"Those who are here today and those across the world who stand together in these ceremonies are sending a powerful message that the spirit of Anzac is alive and well and will not be defeated."

Hundreds of Australian and New Zealand war veterans and relatives of fallen soldiers marked Anzac Day yesterday with a dawn vigil along Thailand's infamous Death Railway, where over 110,000 people died.

Some former prisoners of war joined 500 pilgrims at Hellfire Pass, one of Asia's most venerated World War II sites, and shed tears as representatives of both nations paid tribute to those who died along the tracks.