Gallipoli
“There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours,” Mustafa Kemal Ataturk said for the Battle of Canakkale. “After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
Gallipoli is a peninsula between the Dardanelles and the Aegean Sea, where one of the bloodiest battles of World War I took place. Visiting Gallipoli is a different and eye opening experience during the entire year, however many Australians or New Zealanders come to Gallipoli to remember their lost ones on the dates of the 24th and 25th of April. People from Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and France conduct Anzac Day services on the Gallipoli Peninsula for the soldiers they have lost during this vicious battle on the same date. These days includes a dawn service for the remembrance and a Gallipoli tour to understand where and which conditions those soldiers have fought in.
The Battle of Canakkale was a wake up for Turkish nation and as for Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a young colonel in Ottoman army, who became the great commander of the Turkish Indipendance War and finally the founder of Turkish Republic. Unlike the Allied generals, who commanded troops from the safety of the beach or from ships anchored in the Aegean, Mustafa Kemal often stood with his men on the front lines, lifting their morale.
A hundred years later, historians, politicians and others continue to debate the larger meaning of the Gallipoli battle. For the Allies(British Empire France), it came to symbolize senseless loss, and would have a devastating effect on the careers of the men who conceived it. Gallipoli is one of the few First World War battlefields to retain the look and feel of the period. the Battle of the Dardanelles was very costly for both sides, and casualties and losses amount to 220,000 with a 59% casualty rate for the Allied forces, and 253,000 with a 60% casualty rate for the Turkish forces.
The battle resonated profoundly among some nations involved. In Turkey, the battle is perceived as a defining moment in the history of the Turkish people—a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the centuries-old Ottoman Empire was crumbling; and in Australia and New Zealand, the then perceived duty to serve their “Mother Country” Britain, resulted in their military defeat, but their sacrifice and heroism marked the birth of a separate national consciousness in both of these countries. The 1915 landings and battles are commemorated by Australians and New Zealanders on ANZAC Day, 25 April, every year. At this time especially, Gallipoli becomes a place of pilgrimage for many Aussies and Kiwis who want to honour the memory of their forbears. The area around Anzac Cove is particularly significant for Australians and New Zealanders, whose armies received their baptism in fire on the cliffs there, and carved a fine military reputation under extreme adversity and enormous loss of life.
The Gallipoli peninsula is one of the most sacred sites for the Turkish nation, with many monuments such as the Monument of Martyrs erected in the honor of the Turkish soldiers who died in the Battle of the Dardanelles against the Allied forces, whose defeat staved off a potential invasion of Turkey.
During the tour, you will have the opportunity to visit many important and historical places like the Kilitbahir Fortress, Turkish Canon Batteries, Brighton Beach, the Beach Cemetery, the ANZAC Cove, Arıburnu Cemetery, the ANZAC Commemorative Site, the Mehmetçik Memorial Statue, the Lone Pine Australian Memorial, Johnstons’s Jolly, Turkish 57.Infantry Regiment Cemetery, The Nek, Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial.
DAILY TOUR TO TROY
Troy is located on the mound of Hisarlık, which overlooks the plain along the Turkish Aegean coast, 5 km from the southern entrance to the Dardanelles. 4000 year-old Troy Ancient City, famous for being the site of Trojan War that Homer described in his epic poem The Iliad, is one of the ancient city where the richest archaeological findings of Anatolia are located. The first excavations at the site were undertaken by the famous archaeologist and businessman Heinrich Schliemann. He undertook the first excavations at the site in 1870, and those excavations could be considered the starting point of modern archaeology and its public recognition. Research and excavations conducted in the Troia and Troas region reveal that the region has been inhabited for 8,000 years. Although continuously occupied for more than four thousand years until its abandonment in the thirteenth century, the fabled city of Troy was lost in time and myth until rediscovered in the 1870s by Heinrich Schliemann. The outlines of the lost city have emerged from the dust through a series of archaeological expeditions, mostly German, mounted off and on since Schliemann’s day. But Troy and its environs remain, for the most part, unexplored. The Troy site is actually a layer cake of cities, with at least ten ancient metropolises superimposed one atop the other. The Troy site would come to be one of the most complex archeological digs in history, revealing nine distinct ages of urban construction. Over the years researchers dug up coins, jewelry, defensive walls, theaters, and a number of other buildings. Some bear evidence of violent destruction, giving heft to the idea that Homer and Virgil were writing about actual historical events when they wrote about the adventures of Achilles, Odysseus, and Aeneas.
Throughout the centuries, Troy has acted as a cultural bridge between the Troas region and the Balkans, Anatolia, the Aegean and Black Sea regions through migration, occupation, trade and the transmission of knowledge.
Its extensive remains are the most significant demonstration of the first contact between the civilizations of Anatolia and the Mediterranean world.
The siege of Troy by Spartan and Achaean warriors from Greece in the 13th or 12th century B.C., immortalized by Homer in the Iliad, has inspired great creative artists throughout the world ever since. According to the epic poem, during a battle between the Trojans and Achaeans, a wooden horse, which arrived in Troy as a gift, was used as a disguise to transport Achaeans into the centre of the impenetrable city, which they inevitably conquered. Whether this story is true or not, there was a Trojan War, which is believed to have been waged during the 12th century and led to Hittite’s name, Wilusa, to be converted to Illion, and later Troia.
Troy is the site of the first beauty contest that gave rise to the Trojan War was close to Mount Ida. The three beauties of the contest were Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, and the judge was Paris. Paris chose Aphrodite. As Aphrodite promised Paris the love of Helen, wife of the king of Sparta, Paris abducted Helen and took her to Troy, provoking the war.
Troy Ancient City, added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998 on cultural criteria. Troy is waiting for those who would like to trace the stories of ancient cultures.
During a tour to Troy, you can visit The Trojan Horse (which was uses in the movie Troy), Helen of Troy, The Trojan Wars, Battle between Achilles and Hector,The 3200 years old city walls of Troy VI and VII, The East gate of VI (Vip entrance of Troy VI), The Temple of Athena, Walls of Troy II and Megaron House, Walls of Troy I (The oldest ruins of Troy), The trench of Schliemann, The ramp of Troy II, The Scaean Gate, The Gate of Troy VI, Sanctuary, Roman Bath, Odeon (Music Theatre), South gate of Troy VI, Bouleuterion, Ruins of agora (Maket place).
PERGAMON
Pergamon was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014, and it has been one the rare settlements that has survived several invasions and devastations over the ages, but reoccupied again on the merits of its strategic location. As confirmed by the findings of the excavations held, prehistory of Pergamon reaches back to second millennia BC. The city survived Persian domination and conquest of Alexander the Great. The most brilliant phase of its history lasted almost one hundred and fifty years when it was the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. At this time, one of the largest libraries of the world was built here and the city became a healing centre. The arts also flourished, and the city particularly became renowned for magnificent sculptures. During the Roman period, Pergamon maintained its significance and developed further becoming “the most famous and magnificent city of the Asia Minor”, as described by the 1st century AD philosopher and author Pliny the Elder. Visiting Bergama would provide you a chance to trace the steps of the ancient city Pergamon through several unique experiences.
Every year almost a million people visit Bergama and the ruins of ancient city Pergamon, which has witnessed many firsts in its history. One of the most significant of these was the first ever use of parchment. Invention of script has been a major breakthrough for the history of humanity, and innovation of parchment was quite important as it created a medium, enabling quick and stable recording of scripts. The development of parchment allowed Pergamon to create a library of manuscripts that rivalled the world renowned library of Alexandria, and paved the way to develop the city as an important centre of arts and science in the 2nd century BC. Pergamon had one of the first Seven Churches of early Christianity, and its name is cited in the Bible. The first theatre with a wooden stage; first trade union; first market law; first public building regulation; first strike and collective agreement were amongst other firsts that took place in the history of Pergamon.
The principal ruins of the ancient Pergamon, comprising all the religious, social and commercial structures, are in the acropolis and the most remarkable of these include the ruins of Pergamon Library, which was one of the largest of the world in that era and hosted a collection of 200 thousand manuscripts; the ten thousand seat theatre where the audience enjoyed the magnificent vista of Pergamon Valley; the Sanctuary of Athena and the Temple of Dionysus; the Sanctuary of Trajan; the Pergamon Gymnasium, which was one the most important learning institutions of the Hellenistic Era; and, the Royal Palaces of Pergamon. The Base of Great Altar of Pergamon, or the Zeus Altar, could also be seen in the Acropolis. However the whole superstructure of the Altar was dismantled and transported to Germany in the late Ottoman Era and it is now on display in Berlin – the Altar and its friezes show the best examples of the art and architecture of Pergamon in the Hellenistic Era. The Sanctuary of Asclepius which was one of the principal healing centres of the Antiquity, where the patients were treated with sound of water, mud baths and waters of a healing spring. Pergamon was also the home of physician Galen, father of pharmacology, making the city stand out in the history of medicine and pharmacology. The Serapis Temple dedicated to Egyptian gods was one of the principal structures of the Roman era and it was renowned as the Red Basilica due to the colour of bricks used. During the Byzantine era this noticeably huge structure was converted to a church, which is one of the first Seven Churches cited in the Bible.
Following the Roman and Byzantine eras, Pergamon came under Turkish domination. Today’s Bergama contains examples of the Seljuk and Ottoman architecture, such as mosques, bathhouses and bridges. Most prominent of these include the Ulu Cami (the Grand Mosque), Selçuklu Minaresi (the Seljuk Minaret), Şadırvan Cami (the Ablution Fountain Mosque), Çukur Han (the Sunk Caravanserai), and Taş Han (the Stone Caravanserai). There are also examples of 18th and 19th century civil architecture at the Kale Mahallesi (Citadel Neighbourhood) which is situated at the lower slopes of the hill where the Pergamon city was once built.
Museum of Bergama, Sanctuary of Asclepius, Kozak Plateau are other must-seen places around Pergamon.
