'Coo-ee - come on over'

Next year is the 93rd anniversary of the Anzac military landing at Gallipoli. Australian travellers will head for the infamous beach and further on to the Western Front.

In March 1915, the small Turkish minelayer Nusrat secretly dropped 26 mines in the Straits of the Dardanelles in advance of the enormous British and French battle fleet. As a result, on the morning of 18 March 1915, the mines and the determined resistance of Turkish gunners on shore turned back the fleet as it tried to seize the Dardanelles and blast a seaway to supply Russia. It was a disaster with three battleships sunk. Sir Winston Churchill wrote that 'from the point of view of the continuation of the battle and future of the world, the mines laid by Nusrat had very definitive results'.

Failure to capture the straits by assault from the sea led one month later to the military landings of 25 April 1915 on the Gallipoli peninsula by the Anzacs (Australians and New Zealanders) and the British. Over the next nine months the surrounding beaches, craggy cliffs and barren hills bore testament to successes and failures, heroics and slaughter. In late 1915, having failed to break through the Turkish defences, the Allies withdrew.

As each year goes by, the Anzac Day Dawn Service on the beach at Gallipoli becomes more and more symbolic of the birth of our nation. Visitors to this famous peninsula find themselves in awe of the significance and magnitude of the events that unfolded here more than 90 years ago. The beauty of the landscape as the sun creeps up over the horizon somehow amplifies the tragedy and horror that our nation's forefathers endured. It's an incredible experience to cross the Dardanelles in the early morning darkness, much as the very first Anzacs did over 90 years ago and walk on the very ground where those brave young men fought; or stand in the Australian trenches at the Nek where the Light Horsemen made their fatal charge.

Turkey is a fantastic destination in its own right. Over thousands of years various empires have left their mark from Pergamum to the mighty ruins of ancient Ephesus. The sights are magnificent and Istanbul is one of the world's great cities. Gallipoli though remains the highlight for Australian visitors.

Whilst Gallipoli is heavily entrenched in our souls as a symbolic and pivotal point in Australian history those who travel to the Western Front are often deeply moved as they view the countryside where so many Australians were killed.

The contrast is striking. On one hand you have the grand boulevards of Paris, the Palace of Versailles, the cobbled stone streets of picture perfect Bruges and the medieval squares of Ypres while on the other you have the Somme battlefields and those Flanders Fields where ten times the number of Australians died compared with Gallipoli. Sadly, so many Australians simply pass through this area on a freeway --- yet to stop a while is an incredibly moving experience and can be the most satisfying touring you'll ever do. You can immerse yourself into the staggering devastation and horrific loss of life in that trench warfare of so long ago and gain an insight into the lifestyle and living conditions of the Diggers, where it actually happened. Names such as Bullecourt, Albert, Pozieres sadly seep into your memory. A highlight of any visit must be the moving 'Last Post' under the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, which amplifies the sheer enormity of the tragedy of World War I in northern Europe.

2008 will be a very special year to visit France and Belgium. It marks the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I and a number of commemorations are planned throughout the year.

On 25 and 26 April a special series of Anzac Day ceremonies will be held at the Australian War Memorial located a two-hour drive north of Paris at the small town of Villers-Bretonneux.

Another date to aim for will be in Paris for the giant Remembrance Day celebrations in November. Imagine being amongst those exuberant Gallic crowds in Paris on the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - 90 years on! Time to buy shares in the champagne houses!

Reading about Gallipoli or the Western Front is one thing but being there is to be a part of something special.

Maybe after the commemorations, linger in this part of the world a little longer and tour through Turkey, the Greek Islands and northern France?