ANZAC Cove is a short, steep crescent of shingle on the western side of the Gallipoli peninsula, and for Australians and New Zealanders it is one of the most significant places on earth. It was here, in the pre-dawn darkness of 25 April 1915, that the men of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps came ashore and into the pages of history.
Today the cove is quiet, but the landscape still tells the story: the narrow beach, the crumbling ridges rising sharply behind it, and the cemeteries that sit within metres of where the boats first grounded.
The landing on 25 April 1915
The plan was to land on a broader stretch of coast further south, but in the dark the boats drifted north and the troops came ashore beneath steep, scrub-covered cliffs. Instead of an open plain they faced near-vertical ground, and the day became a desperate scramble to hold any footing at all.
By nightfall the ANZACs clung to a thin strip of ridges, and the front line they established that first day barely moved for the next eight months.
What you can see at ANZAC Cove today
The beach itself is small and unspoilt, with the Sphinx and the Second Ridge looming above. The Ari Burnu Cemetery sits at the northern end of the cove, and the ANZAC Commemorative Site, where the Dawn Service is held each 25 April, is a short walk away.
A famous inscription attributed to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, honouring the fallen of all nations, stands near the water and is one of the most photographed memorials on the peninsula.
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