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The
World War I battle for
control of the Dardanelles (Hellespont)
strait was fought mainly on Turkey's Gallipoli
peninsula (map), with appalling
casualties. Around 100,000 were
killed and 400,000 wounded during
the nine-month campaign (1915-1916).
The battlefields cover an extensive
area from ape Helles at the southern
tip of the peninsula north for over
35 km (22 miles) to the Anafartalar
hills.
If
you're a good hiker you
can visit the highpoints of the northern
battlefields on foot in a day, using
taxis to start and end. Otherwise,
you'll want
transport to get you around. A guided
tour is a pretty good idea here, both
because it provides transport and the
best way to see the most in a short
time; and because a guide will show
you spots and relate stories picked
up from long experience here.
You
can visit the battlefields on an
excursion
from Istanbul by car or
bus,
even in
one day on your
own, but the most time-efficient
way to go—particularly in one day—is
with a tour organized
by
Backpackers
Travel. More...
Another
way is on a six-day
self-drive tour from Istanbul via
the Dardanelles, Gallipoli, Çanakkale, Troy, Bergama
(Pergamum), Ephesus and Kuşadası. More...
If you plan to attend the ANZAC
Day ceremonies, you must make special
plans. More...
Invading
armies and navies have coveted the
strategic Dardanelles strait
since the days of the Trojans because
it controls sea traffic between the Black
Sea, the Sea
of Marmara, and the Aegean/Mediterranean.
At only 1.2 km wide at its narrowest
point (Kilitbahir), and over 100
meters deep, the Dardanelles is also
the key to Istanbul:
warships that could get through the
Dardanelles could easily train their
guns on the sultan's
palace in Istanbul and bring
the Ottoman
Empire to its knees.
The
British navy wanted very much to
get its battleships through the Dardanelles
and attack Constantinople to
knock the Ottoman
Empire, an ally of the Central
Powers, out of the war.
Ottoman
forces, some of whom were commanded
by Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa
Kemal (later Atatürk)
knew that if they did, it might mean
the conquest of their country.
Today,
the Gallipoli battlefields are silent,
preserved as a national park strewn
with marble and bronze monuments,
among the most emotionally touching
places to visit in Turkey.
The
best base for visits to Gallipoli,
the Dardanelles and Troy is
the town of Çanakkale,
on the Dardanelles' southern shore
(map). Eceabat,
on the northern shore, is closer,
but has fewer accommodations.
The
nearest major airport is Istanbul,
although Çanakkale has
a small airfield to which charter "taxi
flights" can be arranged from Istanbul.
Distances & Travel
Times
Çanakkale: ferry & taxi,
about 30 minutes (from Kabatepe Information
Center & Museum)
Edirne: 220
km (137 miles) N, 3-3/4 hours
Istanbul: 340
km (211 miles) E, 5 hours
Izmir: 360
km (224 miles) S, 6 hours
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