The Gallipoli Campaign was the Turks’ greatest victory in the Great War. Now, Çanakkale is a student town and is therefore young and vibrant. A total contrast to the solemn memorials and war graves across the Dardanelles strait. The hospitality that the wonderful people offer is enchanting, and there is much to see here. The battle sites are a long day on their own. Memorials also exist on the hills on either side of Çanakkale Bay as seen in our Port Guide film.
Çanakkale is an ideal place for a holiday as there is too much there to be rushed. It also offers the Museum and the Ruins of Ancient Troy as well as an interesting port with the Trojan Horse used in the film Troy with Brad Pitt and Eric Bana (there were more than one, this is the surviving one as others were burned in the film).
The Gallipoli peninsula is at the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey. It has long been associated with sacrifice and heroism, a place where history and legend have combined, and battles have occurred through every age. Many will wish to explore the more recent battlefields and learn about the events of 1915. The island has the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Troy was once on the sea, but centuries of silt deposit has extended the land and narrowed the strait to only 1.2km wide at its narrowest. The straits form part of the line between Asia and Europe and access through them is a trade route that has been fought over many times. In 2022 a bridge was opened giving a fixed crossing. It has been named the 1915 Canakkale Bridge. The bridge is 3,563 m (11,690 ft) but with the approach viaducts it totals 4,608 m (15,118 ft) and is the longest bridge in Turkey.
The Campaign
As dawn broke on 25 April 1915, Allied troops landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in Ottoman Turkey to take positions that would allow ships to travel through the straits safely. The British 29th Division landed at Cape Helles and the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp troops (ANZAC) landed at Babor Tepe later named ANZAC Cove. Both underestimated the Otterman troops which managed to contain them with ease forcing them to dig in. In the heat, trench warfare was the only cause of death as food rotted and became short, and flies gathered around the dead. The flies cannot be underestimated. They were so vast and thick that they covered the food as the soldiers tried to eat. Soldiers claimed there were millions and millions of flies and diseases spread quickly. By the time the campaign ended, more than 130,000 men had died: at least 87,000 Ottoman soldiers and 44,000 Allied soldiers.
- UK. Of the 115,000 UK troops, 21,225 died and 52,000 were wounded.
- FRANCE. 10,000 died and 17,000 were wounded
- AUSTRALIA. 8,700 died over 19,000 were wounded.
- NEW ZEALAND. 2,779 died, over 5,200 were wounded.
- INDIA. 1,358 died, over 4,700 were wounded.
- NEWFOUNDLAND. 49 died, and about 150 were wounded.
The Helles Memorial serves the dual function of Commonwealth battle memorial for the whole Gallipoli campaign. There are many cemeteries: French War Cemetery. Lancashire Landing Cemetery. Pink Farm Cemetery. Redoubt Cemetery. Skew Bridge Cemetery. Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery. V Beach Cemetery.
The Lone Pine Memorial is at the east end of Lone Pine Cemetery and commemorates Australian and New Zealand fighters. In our walk in Newcastle, Australia, along Bather’s Way, we discovered the ANZAC Memorial Bridge.
The Turkish war memorial commemorating the men of the Turkish 57th Infantry Regiment (a regiment that was all wiped out) who died during the Battle of Gallipoli is found north of Quinn’s Post on the lower slope of battle for Baby 700 (2/3rd May 1915).
Turkish Martyrs’ Memorial can be seen on a sail-by. It is on Hisarlik Hill in Morto Bay at the Southern end of the peninsula. The memorial can be seen on the 500,000 lira banknotes that were issued up to 2005. Cemeteries include Alçıtepe Mass Grave. Seddülbahir Ammunition Dump’s Cemetery (mass grave) Onion Valley Turkish War Cemetery.
Gallipoli is now known as Gelibolu and is a modern town that thrives on tourism and is now an administrative centre in the province of Canakkale. The name is the Italian version of the Greek name Καλλίπολις, meaning ‘good’ or ‘beautiful city’. It was founded in 5BC and has always been a naval town/port.
Canakkale Port Guide Ruins of Ancient Troy Troy Museum ANZAC Memorials
There is a model of Troy VI near the Trojan Horse on the Port just along from the ferry terminal where you will leave for the Memorials across the straits. The port is about 20 minutes by shuttle bus from where the cruise ship docks
Local tours (allow time to load) as shown by GET YOUR GUIDE
More tours and excursions will load when you look at the first. Always remember a ship tour offers the protection of waiting for the trip to return if it is running late.
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