I had a chance to visit the historically significant Dardanelles Strait, including the site of ancient Troy, Alexandria Troas, which is mentioned in the Bible, and the site of the battle of Gallipoli in WWI.

 

 

The Significance of the Dardanelles: A Strategic and Historical Crossroads
The Dardanelles, also known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwest Türkiye that connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Its strategic location has made it one of the most significant waterways in history, serving as both a gateway and a battleground for civilizations across millennia. Stretching approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) in length and varying between 0.75 to 3.7 miles (1.2 and 6 kilometers) in width, the Dardanelles acts as a natural divide between Europe and Asia. Control of the strait has historically meant control of access to the Black Sea and the broader Mediterranean world.

 

 

Mythology and Ancient History
The Dardanelles is steeped in legend and myth. In Greek mythology, Hercules fought a war with Troy years before the Trojan War, which is famously chronicled in Homer’s Iliad. The ancient city of Troy, located near the strait, relied on its proximity for trade and defense.

 

Historically, the Dardanelles was a key passage for the Persians, Greeks, and Romans. The Persian king Xerxes I famously constructed a bridge of boats across the strait during his invasion of Greece in 480 BCE, while Alexander the Great crossed it in his quest to conquer Asia.

 

 

The Ottoman Empire and Modern History
Under the Ottoman Empire, the Dardanelles became a critical component of the empire’s dominance over trade routes. The Ottomans fortified the strait with castles and artillery to secure their hold over this crucial waterway.

 

The Dardanelles gained international attention during World War I, with the Gallipoli Campaign marking one of its most defining moments. The Allied forces sought to gain control of the strait to open a direct route to Russia and weaken the Ottoman Empire. However, the campaign ended in failure for the Allies, with heavy casualties on both sides. This battle also led to the fame of the local Ottoman commander Mustafa Kemal, who became Attaturk, the founder and first president of modern Turkey.

 

 

Ancient Wonders of Troy
The day began with an early breakfast at the Ramada Hotel Tekirdağ and a drive across the new bridge across the Dardanelles to the small town of Dalyan on the Asian coast. We were here to visit the ruins of Alexandria Troas, a city founded by one of Alexander the Great’s generals after his wars of conquest of this area  and Persia.

 

We first walked to the shore, past a pink-hued lake, where a small hint of the ancient port of Alexandria Troas can be seen in the columns jutting out of the water. This area has not yet been excavated, so there may be more to see in the future. The actual ruins of Alexandria Troas are fairly small compared to other Roman or Greek sites, but the remnants of a bathhouse and other structures, hint at its importance in ancient times.

 

We drove to the ruins of Tory near the modern-day city of Çanakkale. We ate lunch at a restaurant called Olea, which is across from the Troy Museum. We enjoyed traditional Turkish cuisine with more kofte, chicken, or fish.

 

 

The Complicated Ruins of Troy
A highlight of this trip was the ancient city of Troy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site immortalized in Homer’s epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey. The city’s strategic location at the crossroads of trade routes between the Aegean and Anatolia made it a center of commerce and culture. Archaeological evidence indicates that Troy was occupied as early as the Early Bronze Age, around 3000 BCE. Over the millennia, the city experienced repeated destruction and rebuilding, ultimately forming a multilayered archaeological site that reflects its enduring significance in the ancient world.

 

Troy’s excavation began in 1870, spearheaded by Heinrich Schliemann, a German archaeologist fascinated by Homeric epics. His work revealed the city’s extensive history, but his excavation methods were controversial, crude, and often destructive, as he dug through upper layers to reach what he believed to be the Troy of the Trojan War. Archaeologists have since identified nine distinct layers of settlement, labeled Troy I through Troy IX, spanning nearly 4,000 years of history. Each layer reflects a different period, from the Early Bronze Age to the Roman era. Schliemann famously uncovered what he called “Priam’s Treasure,” though its connection to Homer’s Troy remains debated. Schliemann notoriously smuggled the treasure out of the country to avoid giving the Ottoman Empire an agreed-upon 50/50 split of anything he found. His wife wore some of the jewelry found in the treasure as they left. To my surprise, he was later allowed back into the country after paying back what he owed  the Ottomans.

 

 

The Museum of Troy
The Museum of Troy is a wonderfully modern museum that brought the historic city of Troy to life. This museum has three floors and houses an impressive collection of artifacts uncovered from the ruins of Troy, including pottery, weapons, and jewelry. The museum has traditional displays, interactive displays, and a hint of whimsy. I appreciated a few video displays near the cafe and gift shop that brought the Trojan Horse to life and showed imperial stormtroopers visiting the ancient site.

 

 

City of Çanakkale
The city of Çanakkale is a large coastal city near the ancient site. It is a university town with lively nightlife and a coastal promenade. It hosts yet another version of the Trojan Horse, which is a prop from the Brad Pitt movie Troy.

 

We visited on November 10th, which is the anniversary of the death of Attaturk. There were ceremonies held throughout the country and remembrances placed in front of his statue in Çanakkale as well. After sunset, we went to Hayati Şef restaurant for a traditional Turkish dinner. This restaurant specializes in seafood. It is one of a string of restaurants along the coast in the city. It also had one table set aside as a small memorial to Attaturk on this day.

 

 

Reflections on Gallipoli
After breakfast at the hotel, we hopped into the van and took the ferry across the Dardanelles to the site of the WWI battle on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The Gallipoli Campaign was primarily the brainchild of Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty in Britain. Churchill believed that a naval assault on the Dardanelles Strait, followed by a land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula, could force the Ottoman Empire out of the war and open up a vital supply route to Russia. His idea was supported by several other Allied leaders, including Lord Kitchener, Britain’s Secretary of State for War.

 

The Gallipoli Campaign lasted from February 19, 1915, to January 9, 1916. It began with naval operations aimed at forcing passage through the Dardanelles Strait but transitioned into a full-scale amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula on April 25, 1915. The campaign continued for several months as Allied forces from Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand (ANZAC), and other nations faced fierce resistance from Ottoman troops commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) and German advisors.

 

Our guide led us through key locations, including memorials, cemeteries, and preserved trenches, sharing stories of heroism, hardship, and resilience. The ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Memorial was particularly moving, with inscriptions and plaques commemorating the soldiers who fought valiantly far from their homelands. The Turkish 57th Regiment Memorial offered a parallel perspective, honoring the Ottoman soldiers who defended their territory with equal bravery.

 

We started at the beaches where the ANZAC forces landed, where we visited some of the cemeteries that held the first casualties of their forces. We made our way up to the high ground where the Turkish forces awaited. Our climb was a leisurely drive, while theirs was a  hellish endeavor.

 

Along the way, there are memorials to the Allied losses. Near the top of the ridge, you get to the cemetery of the 57th Ottoman Infantry Regiment, of whom Attaturk would later say, “a famous regiment this, because it was completely wiped out.” This was among the first Ottoman units to arrive. They held the high ground at great cost. The unit did not, in fact, fight to the last man, but they did lose half their numbers in the fight for Gallipoli. After terrible losses in 1918 at the Battle of Megiddo in Palestine, the regiment was considered destroyed.

 

A new installation at the park is a statue of Mustafa Kemal (Attaturk) coordinating the defense from the heights overlooking the landing beaches. This statue recreates a famous photograph taken during the fighting. With its commanding view of the peninsula, it is obvious why this ridge became such a place of heavy fighting.

 

Possibly, the only thing that went well for the Allied troops was the withdrawal. Despite being so close to the Ottoman forces, all the Allied troops were able to pull out by 20 December without incident. One of the clever devices used to conceal their withdrawal was Australian Private William Scurry’s invention of a self-firing rifle. The rifle was attached to a sort of water clock that pulled the trigger even after the soldiers had left their positions.

 

The Dardanelles remains a geographically and historically significant place. From the history and legend of ancient Troy to the real-life heroism and pathos of the Gallipoli battlefield, this fascinating area is worth a visit.