Canakkale / Turkey |
The area which served as an important passageway between the Asian and European continents during the course of history lies on a level sink alongside the straits of the same name, measuring 65 km long and 100 m deep, between the Marmara and Aegean Seas. The area was inhabited upon the immigration to south of the first Nordic-Etruscan tribes beginning 300s B.C. Upon the settling down of the Etruscans and the Trak branches in the area various settlements were established.  The name of the city is "Dadrawana" in the Etruscan language, meaning "the Country of the Man of the Mother Goddess". It is located in the area of the anciend Mysia. Subsequently it became Dardanel. In the 6th century B.C. the area was taken by Lydians, followed by Persians, Spartans and Macedonians, and in 191 A.D. by Romans. After the division of the Roman Empire Byzantines dominated the area. In the 7th century the city was exposed to the Arab raids many times. During the Crusades, the city was attacked by Venetians, Genoese and other Italian states. In the 12th century the Turkish Karasioğulları took Çanakkale, and Gelibolu (Gallipoli) on the other bank. In 1349 it was annexed to the Ottoman lands. The Çanakkale area and Gelibolu, called Kale-i Sultaniye by the Ottomans, sustained the assaults of the Entente Powers during the 1st World war in 1914, however, they were unsuccessful in the face of the incredible defence of the Turkish forces under the command of Atatürk. This defence was included in the war history of the world with the war strategy "Çanakkale is impassable". Today, on both sides of the Çanakkale straits, rise monuments in memory of this unparallelled victory. The grandest is the "Monument of Martyrs", measuring 42 m high, consisting of 4 columns, built upon the Hisarlı Hill. The remaining ones are the Monument of Mehmet Çavuş (Sergeant Mehmet) in Arı Burnu (cape) and the monumental tombs erected in memory of the Turkish and foreign soldiers in the Gelibolu Peninsula. The oldest archeological find recovered in the area is the dardanos tumulus, lovated to the south of the city, belonging to Traks, which is a mass grave made of dry rubble. Amongst the other works is the Sultan Castle ordered to be built by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452. Located in front of the castle, having a rectangular plan, measuring 100x150 square meters, are embrasures of 2 m each. The castle houses a small mosque. The Kilit Bahir Castle, having a triangular plan, 220x125 m, as built during the same period, means "the Key of the Sea." It was built by the side of the narrowest span of the straits, commanding the best view. The other works of art in Çanakkale and environs are the amphitheatre and the aqueducts in Alexandrea, 30 km west of Ezine, ruins of the Trak temple in Neandrea, Mevlevihane (convent of the Mevlevi dervishes) in Gelibolu, Mausoleums of Bayraklı Baba and Hallacı Mansur, and the Great Mosque and the Kurşunlu Mosque. Furthermore, the Jewish Synagogue built in 1897 is of the other works of art. In the Çanakkale Archeological Museum, exhibits from the Prehistorical, Etruscan, Trak, Macedonian, Roman, Btzantine and Turkish eras unearthed as a result of the excavations in the area are on display. Today Çanakkale is situated at the northwestern end of the Anatolian peninsula and has wealth of varieties of sea products. Gökçeada and Bozcaada are touristic islands well-known for their grapes and wine. Located north of the city are the Kestanbol thermal springs.
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