Modern day Turkey

GALLIPOLI

MAY 2004

Turkish Flag
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Gallipoli is a peninsula that makes up the western portion of the Dardanells, the ocean passage from the Aegean Sea into Istanbul and beyond.  During W.W.I, Turkey was aligned with the Axis powers of Germany, mainly because the Sultan and the Kaiser were buddies. The Australians and New Zealanders, along with the British and French fought a very bloody war along the peninsula.  No one won, everyone lost.  The peninsula had no strategic importance to the Allies at the time.

This is where Mustafa Kamals gained his recognition and went on to greater heights, and where thousands and thousands of soldiers died.

Presently, the entire peninsula is a National Park with memorials dedicated to the brave men that met their end here.

Mel Gibson, in his early film career, made a movie of the battle.   After visiting the sites, I cannot get the movie or the waste that it depicted out of my memory.

 Western Turkey

 

This is as we crossed the Dardanells toward Gallipoli.  The permanent marker on the side of the hill tells all that go thru the Dardanells that "NO, THIS LAND WILL NEVER BE CONQUERED".

This is the main memorial for the Turkish soldiers.  This is a symbol for the future.  Down where I am standing is a marker for each of the divisions that fought in the conflict.  It has 3 levels of tiers full of markers to give you an idea of the volume of troops.
crossing the Dardanells Turkish memorial to the Future

This status below, is next to the above symbol to the future, and it depicts the Turkish Flag meaning they will fight and die for the flag, and the rifle with the olive branch, meaning they would rather have peace.

These 3 left photos below, are explained below, but wanted to point out the markers in the foreground with one of them a close up that is in the photo in the next row below right.

Turkish statue to Strengh and Peace one of many alied memorials
memorial to a soldier Their names liveth for evermore

To the glory of God and His everlasting memory...These 3 photo at the left and above are of one of the memorials dedicated to the brave allied men.  Each of the 3 is just a little closer than the previous one just so the verbiage can be seen.  The numbers that are carved here are only for those that parished in this one small section of the peninsula.   There are many, many more of these memorials along the route, with different names and numbers, and just as moving.

2 enemies WWI Turkish soldier

These 3 statues here are all at the memorial for peace at the lower right.  The upper left shows a Turkish soldier carrying an allied soldier, a symbol for peace.  The one above is an armed Turkish soldier, and a copy if this is on some of the Turkish money.  The statue below if fairly new, and not exactly sure what it is of, but could be one of the last living soldiers of the conflict.  This photo of the memorial is only leaning to the right because the photographer was not holding the camera level.
statue of old man Turkish memorial to peace
trench warfare top of hill overlooking both bodies of water
This is a reproduction of a trench.

This memorial above is to all those that fought and died in this area.  The allies here in the front, and the Turkish in the background to the left.  The statue of Mustafa Kamals is to the right of them.
A closer view of the statue to Mustafa Kamals. 

The photo below is from an opposite angle of the one above, behind the allied memorial looking toward the Dardanells.
Mustafa Kamals looking toward the Dardanells

This panorama below is of the Aegean Sea taken from the base of the Turkish memorial.  From this point both water ways can be seen as shown in the photos.

looking toward the Aegean Sea
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