Members of the Za’anin family live at the Islamic University in Gaza City, which is now a shelter for displaced Palestinians amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
CANAKKALE, Turkey (AP) — Britain’s Princess Anne, New Zealand’s prime minister and Australia’s governor-general gathered near the World War I battlefields on Turkey’s Gallipoli Peninsula for a dawn ceremony Friday to remember thewho lost their lives in a tragic campaign 110 years ago.
The gathering took place near a beach where the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or Anzacs, first landed at Gallipoli at dawn on April 25, 1915.As the sun began to rise, the ceremony in northwest Turkey kicked off with a mournful Māori lament, setting the tone for a solemn observance that included prayers and the laying of wreaths.New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon spoke of the human cost of war and the importance of preventing conflict in the future.
“Anzac troops came ashore here shoulder-to-shoulder with their brothers from half a world away. Some anticipated adventure far from home. But as the sun rose and the shadows drained from the gullies, it was not adventure that greeted them, but horror,” Luxon said.“It would be a disservice to those whose valor we remember, if we forget the real lesson of this campaign: that we should do all we can — all we can — to prevent anything like it happening again,” he added.
The campaign, part of a British-led effort to defeat the Ottoman Empire, ultimately failed, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides during the eight-month conflict. It aimed to secure a naval route from the Mediterranean Sea to Istanbul through the Dardanelles, and knock the Ottomans out of the war.
As in previous years, travelers from Australia and New Zealand camped overnight at the site, which is now known as Anzac Cove, to attend the dawn service.People take cover from rain at San Felipe Church in Portobelo, Panama, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, a day before the Black Christ festival. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
People take cover from rain at San Felipe Church in Portobelo, Panama, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, a day before the Black Christ festival. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)Pilgrims joke around with water after crawling to San Felipe Church to honor the Black Christ in Portobelo, Panama, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, during a festival celebrating the iconic statue that was found on the shore in 1658. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Pilgrims joke around with water after crawling to San Felipe Church to honor the Black Christ in Portobelo, Panama, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, during a festival celebrating the iconic statue that was found on the shore in 1658. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)A woman drips candle wax on Valentin Solis as part of his penance, as pilgrims make their way, some crawling, to the San Felipe Church in Portobelo, Panama, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, during a festival celebrating the iconic Black Christ statue that was found on the shore in 1658. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)