IT'S the small stretch of sand and treacherous cliff face where young soldiers were killed but a legend and bond between two nations were cemented forever.
Now, Gallipoli is poised to be the setting of a new Anzac legend with plans well advanced to hold a rugby league Test match between the Kangaroos and Kiwis in Turkey in 2015.
It will mark the centenary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops on the iconic peninsula during the First World War.
The Daily Telegraph has learnt that secret discussions between ARL, NRL and New Zealand Rugby League officials have been held for the last two years and an official proposal will be handed to the Australian, New Zealand and Turkish governments within the next few weeks.
It is envisaged that players from each country will attend the Dawn Service at Anzac Cove before the Test match is played somewhere in Istanbul later in the day.
Talks have already been held with the home stadiums of Turkish football league powerhouses Fenerbahce and Galatasaray about being used as potential venues.
NZRL chief executive Jim Doyle has been in constant dialogue with NRL boss David Gallop, marketing manager Paul Kind and ARL chief executive Geoff Carr, and they are optimistic about the match's prospects.
"With 100 years since Gallipoli coming up, to have the opportunity to celebrate it with a game that is 100 years old itself, when so many rugby league players fought in all the wars since, it was something we just had to pursue," Carr said.
Said Doyle: "When this was first raised and discussed, we couldn't help but do everything we could to make this happen. Can you imagine the number of Kiwis and Aussies who will be in that part of the world at that time because of the centenary? It will be absolutely massive.
"With the support we've had from the NRL and ARL and the NZRL, I'm very confident we can make this happen."
Doyle said the most likely venue was Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, which is the 50,000-seat home of Fenerbahce. There have also been discussions with Turk Telekom Arena, the home venue of Galatasaray - the Super Lig club of Socceroos star Harry Kewell.
"We've done a lot of work behind the scenes looking at these venues," Doyle said.
"The soccer grounds are basically a two-hour drive from Gallipoli. We've looked at the faciltiies available, how long it would take us to get there, when we could play it.
"Ideally, we'd like both teams to go to the Dawn Service and then play."
Officials from the three governing bodies have kept the idea a closely guarded secret for so long because they did not want to alert the Australian Rugby Union.
They intend to meet with Turkish government officials during the Four Nations tournament to be held in Europe in October and November.
"We didn't want it out in the public arena until we were ready to go to the government about it," Doyle said. "It's been a matter of working on the logistics and seeing what's possible."
Rugby league has been rusted on to the Anzac legend for years and the notion of playing the match in Turkey as part of centenary celebrations at Anzac Cove is one of the most inspired in recent memory.
