ONE CITY. THOUSANDS OF STORIES.

Some shores
never forget.

From the stones of Troy to the quiet hills of Gallipoli. A journey between continents, through our shared memory.

Discover the history Explore places of remembrance

SLOW DOWN. LISTEN TO THE STORY.40°03′ N · 26°13′ E

ÇANAKKALE / TÜRKİYE

Between two continents.
At the heart of memory.

The Dardanelles do more than separate two shores. They link the Aegean with the Sea of Marmara, and the past with the present. Armies crossed these waters, cities grew beside them, and lives changed. Today, the landscape invites remembrance and a shared commitment to peace.

ASIAEUROPE

DARDANEL

Our association

01 / Timeline

Follow the traces of time

More than five thousand years. Ten chapters. A shared memory.

East gate and stone walls of Troy VI — David Spender · CC BY 2.0

CHAPTER 01 / 3000 BCE

More than a legend

At Troy, you walk through lives layered upon other lives. Settlement reaches back to around 3000 BCE; walls, gateways and everyday objects reveal a place repeatedly rebuilt across the centuries. Homer’s poems carried its name far beyond the shores of the Aegean. Yet poetry and archaeology ask different questions: excavation does not establish every detail of the legendary war. Inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1998, Troy belongs both to the history of real communities and to the shared imagination of humanity. Among these stones, the past remains an invitation to wonder, and to look more closely.

Historical source

Kilitbahir Castle beside the strait — Kcperspectives · CC BY-SA 4.0

CHAPTER 02 / 480 / 334 BCE

Two shores, changing worlds

The ancient world knew these waters as the Hellespont. In 480 BCE, Xerxes ordered bridges of ships across the strait for his invasion of Greece. In 334 BCE, Alexander crossed in the opposite direction, into Asia. His victory at the Granicus became an early turning point in the campaign against the Persian Empire. Looking across today, the distance can seem modest. For those who crossed, it meant leaving familiar ground for an uncertain future. Beyond the names of rulers were thousands of individual journeys. This narrow stretch of water became a threshold on which the wider world repeatedly changed.

Historical source

CHAPTER 03 / 1462–1463

Guardians of the strait

After the conquest of Constantinople, securing the strait acquired renewed importance for the Ottoman state. Commissioned by Mehmed II in the period 1462–1463, Kilitbahir and Çimenlik rose on opposite shores of the narrow passage. Their position expressed a practical idea: control of the crossing depended on watching the water from both sides. These walls speak of military power, but also of careful attention to landscape. Today, visitors move through courtyards once shaped by the routines of defence. With the opposite shore so close, the relationship between geography and history becomes tangible. The sea remains the thread connecting both fortresses.

Historical source

2011 replica of Nusret in Çanakkale — Raicem · CC BY 4.0

CHAPTER 04 / 18.03.1915

The strait holds firm

On 18 March 1915, British and French warships attempted to force a passage through the Dardanelles. Ottoman coastal guns and minefields worked together as a defensive system. Mines laid by Nusret in Erenköy Bay on the night of 7–8 March played a decisive part. By the end of the action, the Allied fleet withdrew after severe losses; the naval breakthrough had failed. This outcome belonged to more than a single ship or a single moment. Sailors, observers, gunners and supply crews all contributed. Remembering their achievement also means remembering the fear, pressure and human cost carried by those on both shores and at sea.

Historical source

Anzac Cove and its steep coastal hills — Jorge Láscar · CC BY 2.0

CHAPTER 05 / 25.04.1915

A shore changed at dawn

At dawn on 25 April, Allied troops began landing on the Gallipoli peninsula, around Cape Helles and at Arıburnu. The shore reached by Australian and New Zealand soldiers became known across the world as Anzac Cove. Narrow beaches and steep ridges shaped every movement inland. Ottoman resistance prevented a swift breakthrough, and the campaign developed into months of fighting. Standing on the beach today, the distance from water to hillside seems small. On that morning, each step carried uncertainty. This coastline asks us to remember more than an operation on a map: it holds the stories of people who entered the same war from very different worlds.

Historical source

Atatürk memorial at Chunuk Bair — Kadı Kadı · CC BY 2.0

CHAPTER 06 / 08.1915

Every ridge remembers

In August, the fighting intensified across a small and unforgiving landscape. Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and the Anafartalar area became the setting for fierce attacks and counterattacks. Allied commanders were seeking a way out of the campaign’s deadlock. Mustafa Kemal held important command responsibilities in the Ottoman defence at Anafartalar and Conkbayırı. Australian, New Zealand, British and other soldiers also left their experiences within this landscape. On a modern map, the ridges appear as separate stops. On the ground, they recall waiting in trenches, carrying the wounded and losing companions. To honour courage here is also to acknowledge grief.

Historical source

Seyit Onbaşı monument — Alicembasli · CC BY-SA 4.0

CHAPTER 07 / 1915

The person behind the history

Seyit Onbaşı offers a human point of entry into the defence of the Dardanelles. An artilleryman from Havran, he is remembered for his service at the Rumeli Mecidiye battery and for carrying a heavy shell. The weight represented by his monument has come to signify responsibility as well as strength. Popular accounts differ over the shell’s precise weight and its connection to a ship’s sinking; those details are not presented here as settled facts. At the centre is an ordinary life caught in extraordinary circumstances. Remembering Seyit also creates space for the gunners, medical workers and sailors whose names are less familiar.

Historical source

CHAPTER 08 / 12.1915 – 01.1916

The silence left behind

After months of fighting, the Allies decided to evacuate. The withdrawal from Anzac and Suvla was completed in December 1915; the last troops left Cape Helles on 9 January 1916. Trenches and graves remained, along with absences that families would carry for years. Ottoman defence had defeated the campaign, but the First World War continued on other fronts. Gallipoli was therefore not where the entire war ended: it was where a costly expedition came to a close. Keeping that distinction matters. The military outcome is clear, while the grief within this quiet landscape reaches beyond the boundaries between opposing sides.

Historical source

CHAPTER 09 / 1960 · 1973 · 2014

Remembrance makes room for peace

Opened in 1960, the Çanakkale Martyrs’ Memorial gives a visible place above the strait to the memory of fallen Ottoman soldiers. The peninsula received historic national park protection in 1973; a new historical area administration was established in 2014. Turkish memorials and the cemeteries of other nations now share the same landscape. Their inscriptions speak different languages, but ask something similar of visitors: to recognise the people behind the losses. Reading one name and walking quietly can be acts of remembrance. The possibility of reconciliation grows when honouring one’s own dead also leaves room for another family’s grief.

Historical source

1915 Çanakkale Bridge seen from Lapseki — Zafer; color correction by Adem · CC BY-SA 4.0

CHAPTER 10 / 2018 · 2022 · ∞

A future shaped by memory

Çanakkale lives alongside its past without being confined to it. The Troy Museum, opened to visitors in 2018, presents archaeological heritage through a contemporary museum experience. The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, inaugurated on 18 March 2022, created a new road connection between Europe and Asia. One invites us to look deeper into time; the other supports the journeys of the present. Between them is a living city of waterfront walks, harbour activity and everyday student life. A visit should leave more than the names of battles and rulers. It can also reveal how communities continue, and how memory travels forward with them.

Historical source

02 / GELİBOLU

The museum ship in Çanakkale is a replica; the original is in Tarsus.

Read the story

03 / Gallery

A city’s light, the traces of time

Look closer at Çanakkale. Select a photograph to enlarge it.

Photo and licence

04 / Journal

Notes from the shore

Short readings for a more thoughtful visit.

Historical background: Directorate of the Gallipoli Historical Area. Event information: DARDANEL association. About remembrance on 18 March ↗

Annual commemorations in Çanakkale

18MARCH

Remembrance of the fallen

ÇANAKKALE

25APRIL

Landings and ANZAC remembrance

ÇANAKKALE

10AUGUST

Anafartalar remembrance

ÇANAKKALE

View official programmes

06 / Plan your visit

Before you travel

A thoughtful visit starts with a little preparation.

Getting here

Plan the city on the Asian shore separately from the memorials on the European peninsula. Check ferry services and your bridge route before travelling.

Hours and tickets

Museum hours, fees and temporary closures can change. No fixed hours are promised here; confirm the latest official information.

Visit respectfully

Keep quiet in cemeteries, do not climb memorials, and stay on designated paths. Do not fly drones without permission. Ask ahead about step-free access.

İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü Tarihi Alan Başkanlığı

Some shores
never forget.

Between two continents.
At the heart of memory.

Our association