For the ultimate Anzac Centenary experience with a Hellenic twist, a 12-day guided tour to Greece in April was launched this week, offering deep insights into the remarkable role played by the island of Lemnos in particular in the Gallipoli legend.
Organised by the World Hellenic InterParliamentary Association, the tour, which begins on April 17, will immerse those taking part in every aspect of the island’s relationship to the Dardanelles campaign, with interpretive events at key locations and what will be immensely moving commemorations at the East Mudros Bay and Portianou war cemeteries on the island.
Lemnos, in the northern Aegean, was the principal assembly point and supply-base for the Gallipoli landings in April 1915.
With participants joining official parliamentarians, the tour program will include exclusive access to official events on Royal Australian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy vessels and attendance at civic receptions.
After four days on Lemnos the tour moves to the mainland, where a second generation of Anzacs fought in April 1941, and will visit the town of Vevi, where Australian forces were defeated in the opening days of the German invasion of Greece.
On Anzac Day itself, the tour will be in the Greek capital in time for the dawn service at Phaleron War Cemetery, followed by a reception held by the Australian Embassy.
An extended five-day tour to Crete beginning on April 28 will take in the main Battle of Crete sites.
Tour organiser John Pandazopoulos told Neos Kosmos that the trip will be a unique opportunity to gain a unique insight into the historic events that took place on the island, and a chance to visit other key ANZAC sites in Greece.
“This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in the special relationship forged between Greece and Australia in wartime,” said Mr Pandazopoulous, the former Victorian state MP.
“It is going to be a very special trip. The Australian and NZ embassies in Greece are of course pulling out all the stops to make the official events spectacular.”
Mr Pandazopoulos has been a vocal campaigner in efforts to lobby the Greek state and regional authorities to embrace the concept of an ‘ANZAC trail’ – to promote sites of historical significance – and the many unmarked battlefield sites where Australian and New Zealand troops fought.
The cost of the 12-day tour – organised by licenced agent Anzac Tours in Greece – starts at $3,480 (€2,390) with a single supplement of $860 (€590). The tour fee includes accommodation in four and five-star hotels, coach travel and guides.
For further information and the tour brochure contact John Pandazopoulos on 0408 3100733.