The Çanakkale Martyrs' Memorial (Turkish: Çanakkale Şehitleri Anıtı) is a war memorial commemorating the service of about 253,000 Ottoman soldiers who participated at the Battle of Gallipoli, which took place from April 1915 to December 1915 during the First World War. It is located within the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park on Hisarlık Hill in Morto Bay at the southern end of the Gallipoli peninsula in Çanakkale Province, Turkey.
---Design and construction---
For the erection of a memorial in Gallipoli, an architectural contest was opened in 1944. The design by architects Doğan Erginbaş, Ismail Utkular and civil engineer Ertuğrul Barla won the official contest.[2] Construction of the monument was decided in 1952, and the ground stone was laid on 19 April 1954. Financial problems caused interruption of the construction works several times. The main structure was completed on 15 March 1958. In the meantime, the Turkish daily Milliyet started a countrywide financial support campaign, and the memorial was officially opened on 21 August 1960.
The 41.70 m (137 ft) high monument is in the form of four square columns 7.5 m (25 ft) wide with 10 m (33 ft) space between each other, topped by a concrete slab of 25 m × 25 m (82 ft × 82 ft). The huge structure is well visible during passage through the Dardanelles.
The museum underneath the monument was opened later and the bas-reliefs on the columns were completed afterwards. Situated to the north of the memorial, a war cemetery holding the remains of 600 Ottoman soldiers was established in 1992.
Posted at the site, an inscription with a poem by Mehmet Akif Ersoy (1873-1936), who also wrote the words of the Turkish national anthem, reminds the visitors:
Do not ignore the ground on which you have walked,
It is not ordinary soil.
Reflect on the thousands of people, who lie beneath
Without a shroud.
You are the son of a martyr –
Do not hurt your ancestor,
Do not give away this beautiful motherland,
Even if you have the whole world.
---The War Museum---
Inside the museum, beneath the memorial, further information and historical artifacts illustrate the magnitude of the Battle of Gallipoli, against the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). Original personal and military items, such as cutlery, a set of false teeth, dress buttons, belt buckles, sniper shields, and photographs found on the battlefield, are on display in the museum.