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 Gallipoli peninsula
(Turkish: Gelibolu Yarımadası, Greek: Kallipolis) is
located in Turkish Thrace, the European part of Turkey,
with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles
straits to the east. The name derives from the Greek
Kallipolis, meaning "Beautiful City".
Gallipoli,
was a city in the southern part of the Thracian
Chersonese now known as the Gallipoli Peninsula, on the
right shore, and at the entrance of the Dardanelles.
The region covers 33,000 hectares (330 square
kilometres). The geological, archaelogical and
environmantal features of the Gallipoli Peninsula have
stimulated the region as a popular tourist spot. The
Peninsula has been a bridgehead, a barrier and meeting
place for different cultures over the centuries.
For nine months in 1915, British and French forces
battled the Ottoman Empire - modern Turkey - for
control of the Gallipoli peninsula, a small finger of
Europe jutting into the Aegean Sea that dominates a
strategic waterway, the Dardanelles. By opening the
Dardanelles to their fleets, the Allies hoped to
threaten the Ottoman capital, Constantinople (now
Istanbul) and knock the Turks out of the war.
Among the British forces were the Anzacs - the
Australia and New Zealand Army Corps - who landed on
the peninsula on 25 April. The landing , was ambitious
and ultimately unsuccessful: the peninsula remained in
its defenders' hands.
The campaign was a costly
failure for the Allies: 44,000 British and French
soldiers died, including over 8700 Australians. Among
the dead were 2721 New Zealanders - approximate one-quarter
of those who fought on Gallipoli. Victory came at a
high price for the Turks: 87,000 men died in the
campaign which became a defining moment in Turkish
history.
 Gallipoli
Peninsula
To honor about 500.000
soldiers, who gave their lives on the gallipoli
peninsula ( gallipoli campaign) during World War I, the
southern half of the peninsula now acts as a national
park preserving that time in the history. This is the
spirit that shows no war is cause for permanent
hostilities but can serve as a basis for friendships as
well '. The region covers 33,000 hectares (330 square
kilometres). The geological, archaelogical and
environmantal features of the Gallipoli Peninsula have
stimulated the region as a popular tourist spot.
The Peninsula has been a bridgehead, a barrier and
meeting place for different cultures over the centuries.
Each year thousands of tourists particularly from
Australia, and New Zealand join the ANZAC day festivies.
It is a profoundly emotional experience in a place
where the national identities were forged. The
Gallipoli Peninsula is equally revered as a site of
remembrance by the allies (Britain, France and India)
and by the Turkish people who suffered a quarter of a
million casualties in defending their homeland against
the allied invasion.
Anzac Day
(April 25th) is a national day of
commemoration in both Australia and New Zealand. The
Anzac landings were the first occasion where the
soldiers of these two fledgling nations fought together
and created a legend that survives to this day.
Gallipoli campaign can be considered as one of the
most ciritcal event in the first world war and has a
long and memorable history. The peninsula's rugged
landscape and historic towns provide the backdrop to
the battlefields of 1915, places of heroism and
sacrifice which are of immense national significance to
Turks, Australians and New Zealanders.
The
results of the the Gallipoli campaign was appalling.
26,111 Australian casualties of whom 8,141 were killed.
In addition, New Zealand suffered 7,571 casualties of
whom 2,431 were killed. Britain endured 21,255 dead
over 120,000 casualties, while French troops lost about
10,000 over 27,000 casualties. India and Newfoundland
lost 1350 and 49 soldiers respectively. The Turkish
lost about 80.000 soldiers over 220,000 casualties
Today Gallipoli peninsula serves as a national park
nearby Canakkale, where several war memorials and
cemetaries belonging to Turks, Australians, New
Zealanders, British and French reflect the drama of
those days. Every April the 25th, thousands of people
from those countries meet here to commemorate the
Gallipoli Campaign. Scuba-diving to the shipwrecks is
also possible in the cool water of lovely Dardanelles.
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