But  of  almost  equal  importance  in  the  campaign
was  a  rounded  hill  which  projects  sharply  from  the
Anafarta  ridge  or  plateau  north  of  Ismail  Oglu  Tepe.
288  SUVLA  BAY

Down  the  western  front  of  this  hill,  which  looks  over
the  plain  to  the  very  centre  of  the  Salt  Lake,  and  to
Suvla  Bay  beyond,  runs  a  broad  yellow  "  blaze  "  of
bare  ground,  showing  a  marl  and  soft  sandstone
surface  (the  formation  of  this  plateau  being  again  of
the  same  character  as  the  Sari  Bair  range).  This
"blaze"  appears  from  the  sea  to  be  shaped  like  a
Gurkha's  "kukri"  or  an  old-fashioned  Turkish
scimitar,  and  so  the  hill  came  to  be  called  "  Scimitar
Hill."  But  officially  it  was  "Hill  70"  from  its
height  in  metres  (say  200  feet),  and  commonly  the
soldiers  called  it  "Burnt  Hill,"  which  was  no
distinction.  It  was  connected,  apparently  without
much  break  or  dip,  with  the  plateau  behind  it  bearing
the  general  name  of  Baka  Baba,  on  which  the
windmills,  the  white  minaret,  and  some  of  the  houses
of  Little  Anafarta  could  be  distinctly  seen  from  the
beach.  The  minaret,  however,  was  destroyed  by  the
Turks  on  Sept.  6,  as  affording  a  sighting  point  for
naval  fire.  This  description  covers  the  southern  and
south-east  positions  to  be  attacked  in  the  Suvla  district.
