Mr Veli Ayhan, Keeper of the Gallipoli Graves

Tim Leslie, courtesy of http://www.abc.net.au/interactives/mr-veli/

Mr Veli devoted much of his life to maintaining the graves and monuments of Commonwealth soldiers that mark the landscape of the place he calls home, Gallipoli.

At the Beach Cemetery, the resting place of John Simpson, moving surprisingly freely for his age Mr Veli walks among the graves, smiling slightly and bending down to touch a tombstone.

“We used to always make sure they lined up straight.

“We had to get it perfectly right or else we’d get fired,” he said with a smile when talking about cutting cracked stones out and replacing them.

 ALSO SEE https://thuppahis.com/2015/04/25/the-ode-and-the-last-post-remembering-the-anzacs/