Çanakkale

Çanakkale
Municipality
A view of city center
Çanakkale
Coordinates: TR 40°09′21″N 26°24′49″E / 40.15583°N 26.41361°E / 40.15583; 26.41361Coordinates: TR 40°09′21″N 26°24′49″E / 40.15583°N 26.41361°E / 40.15583; 26.41361
Country	Turkey
Province	Çanakkale
Government
• Mayor	Ülgür Gökhan (CHP)
Area[1]
• District	937.82 km2 (362.09 sq mi)
Population (2012)[2]
• Urban	111,137
• District	143,041
• District density	150/km2 (400/sq mi)
Vehicle registration	17
Website	www.canakkale.bel.tr

Çanakkale (pronounced [tʃaˈnakkaˌle]; from Ottoman Turkish چینک قلعه‎, literally "pot fortress"),(Greek: Δαρδανέλλια,) is a city and seaport in Turkey, in Çanakkale Province, on the southern (Asian) coast of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the town is 186,116 (2014 estimate).^[3] The current mayor is Ülgür Gökhan (CHP).

Çanakkale Province, like Istanbul Province, has territory in both Europe and Asia. Ferries cross there to the northern (European) side of the strait.

Çanakkale is the finishing point every year for an organised swim across the Hellespont from Eceabat. This event emulates the swim in 1810 by Lord Byron, who was himself emulating the legendary swim by Leander in the story of Hero and Leander.

The city is the nearest major town to the site of ancient Troy. The "wooden horse" from the 2004 movie Troy is exhibited on the seafront. Çanakkale is the second city to be situated on two continents after Istanbul. However Çanakkale is closer to mid-division than Istanbul.

Name

The Greek Byzantine name for Çanakkale چینک قله was Δαρδανέλλια, Dardanellia, from which the English name Dardanelles is derived.

Çanakkale was an Ottoman fortress called Kale-i Sultaniye (Ottoman Turkish: قلعة سلطانيه‎) or Sultaniye kalesi (Fortress of the Sultan). It later became known for its pottery, hence the later name Çanak kalesi 'pot fortress'.

As of 1920, the British were calling Çanakkale, Chanak and Kale Sultanie in their reporting.^[4]

Legends

Ancient Abydos, where the story of Hero and Leander takes place, is to the north of Çanakkale.

History

This is the Trojan horse which appeared in the Brad Pitt movie, now in the town of Çanakkale near Troy.

View of the harbour in Çanakkale

Çanakkale ferry line across the Dardanelles

Çanakkale fortress

The first inhabitants of the city, which hosted many civilizations, lived on the Biga Peninsula in the Last Chalcolithic Age c. 6000 years ago. However, very little is known about the identity and lifestyle of these early settlers. According to some excavations and research, the earliest settlements in the region were established at Kumtepe. It is supposed that Kumkale was established in 4000 BC and Troy between 3500–3000 BC. The real history of Çanakkale started with Troy.

Later the Aeolian Greeks settled on that important land in the 8th century BC and established many trade colonies in the region called Aeolis. The region came under the control of the Lydians in the 7th century BC and under the control of the Persians in the 6th century BC. Aeolis went under the control of the Ancient Macedonian army as Alexander the Great defeated the Persians by the Granicus River of the region in the Battle of the Granicus on his way to Asia. The region came under the reign of the Kingdom of Pergamon in the 2nd century BC.

The western part of the Biga Peninsula where ancient Troy is situated was called Troas. Alexandria Troas, an important settlement of the region, was a free trade port and a rich trade center during Roman times. Later in the 2nd century AD, the region was attacked by Goths from Thrace. During the 7th and 8th centuries, in order to attack İstanbul the Arabs passed the strait a few times and came up to Sestos. At the beginning of the 14th century the Karasids dominated the Anatolian part of the strait. During the first half of that century Demirhan Bey from Karasids attempted to dominate the region. The Ottomans gained control of Gallipoli in 1367.

In 1915, during the First World War, British Empire and France attempted to capture the Ottoman capital of İstanbul and secure a sea route to Russia. Known as The Gallipoli Campaign, or the Dardanelles Campaign, in Turkey it is referred to as the Battle of Çanakkale (Turkish: Çanakkale Savaşı), during March 1915 when the Royal Navy failed to force the Dardanelles and suffered severe losses. During a series of operations, HMS Triumph, HMS Ocean, HMS Goliath, HMS Irresistible and the French battleship Bouvet were all sunk. The French submarine Q84 Joule and the Australian submarine AE2 were also destroyed and several other important ships were crippled too. Most of the damage was inflicted by mines, though a German U-Boat and Turkish small craft contributed too.

As of 1920, the city was estimated to have a population of approximately 22,000. An active port city, it was a stopping point for vessels traveling through the strait, as it had been in the ancient past. It was described as lacking quality accommodations and resources for those passing through by the British who visited the region. Exported goods from the city included wine, hides, pottery, ceramic tiles and grain.^[4]

Notable people from Çanakkale

• Nuri Bilge Ceylan (film director)
• Metin Erksan (film director)
• Ali Teoman Alpay (composer)
• Tevfik Rüştü Aras (Turkish foreign minister)
• İbrahim Bodur (entrepreneur)
• Mustafa Tutkun (humanitarian activist)
• Güney Dal (writer)
• Tahir Musa Ceylan (novelist/philosopher)
• Aslihan Gurbuz (actress)

Education

The service of education throughout the city is above the country average. There are 13 high schools and a college within the boundaries of the city. Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University has 12 faculties, 4 institutes, 9 4-year colleges, 14 vocational schools and serves more than 37,500 students. 30 percent of the city population are college graduates.

Transportation

Çanakkale has one airport, which is 3 km from the city, centre serving since 1995. Anadolu Jet, a trademark of Turkish Airlines, and Borajet has flights from Istanbul and Ankara seven days a week.

Sea transportation is vital for the city since it is located on both sides, on Asian and European continents just like Istanbul.

Çanakkale is linked to north, east, and south by well-paved highways numbered E87/E90/ , E90/D200, and E87/D550 respectively. There are buses from Istanbul and Izmir at any time, day or night. It takes five and a half to six hours to get from Istanbul to Çanakkale, and about the same time from Izmir.

Communication

North of Çanakkale at 40°10′17.66″N 26°24′34.34″E / 40.1715722°N 26.4095389°E / 40.1715722; 26.4095389 (TBG transmitter), there is a guyed mast used for the maritime LF-transmitter TBG, working on 53.4 kHz.

Climate

Çanakkale has a mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers and cool and rainy winters. Snow falls ordinarily every winter.

Gallery

• 

  Çanakkale in 1915

• 

  Dardanelles on the Kitab-ı Bahriye

• 

  Portion of the legendary walls of Troy (VII)

• 

  A British war monument for the Battle of Gallipoli, 1915

• 

  Çanakkale Clock Tower

• 

  Aynalı Çarşı

• 

  View from Dardanelles strait

• 

  Hadrian Statue from Troia IX (BC 85 AD 450), found in the Odeon, Troy (Ilium), Çanakkale Museum

• 

  Çanakkale Martyrs' Memorial

• 

  Troian horse

• 

  Çanakkale First World War Cemetery

• 

  Çanakkale University Strategic Research Centre

Twinships

• Pomezia, Italy
• Osnabrück, Germany

See also

• Battle of Gallipoli
• Güzelyalı, a nearby town
• Chanak Crisis

References

• Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition s.v. Dardanelles (town).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Çanakkale.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Çanakkale.

• Çanakkale (in Turkish)
• Çanakkale Özel website (in Turkish)
• Pictures of the town and sub-galleries to major sights
• An overview of memorials, cemeteries and relics of the Gallipoli campaign, in Turkish known as the Çanakkale wars.

Çanakkale in Çanakkale Province of Turkey Districts Ayvacık Bayramiç Biga Bozcaada Çan Çanakkale Eceabat Ezine Gelibolu Gökçeada Lapseki Yenice List of Provinces by Region Istanbul Istanbul West Marmara Balıkesir Çanakkale Edirne Kırklareli Tekirdağ Aegean Afyonkarahisar Aydın Denizli İzmir Kütahya Manisa Muğla Uşak East Marmara Bilecik Bolu Bursa Düzce Eskişehir Kocaeli Sakarya Yalova West Anatolia Ankara Karaman Konya Mediterranean Adana Antalya Burdur Hatay Isparta Kahramanmaraş Mersin Osmaniye Central Anatolia Aksaray Kayseri Kırıkkale Kırşehir Nevşehir Niğde Sivas Yozgat West Black Sea Amasya Bartın Çankırı Çorum Karabük Kastamonu Samsun Sinop Tokat Zonguldak East Black Sea Artvin Giresun Gümüşhane Ordu Rize Trabzon Northeast Anatolia Ağrı Ardahan Bayburt Erzincan Erzurum Iğdır Kars Central East Anatolia Bingöl Bitlis Elazığ Hakkâri Malatya Muş Tunceli Van Southeast Anatolia Adıyaman Batman Diyarbakır Gaziantep Kilis Mardin Siirt Şanlıurfa Şırnak Metropolitan municipalities are bolded.