GALLIPOLI

Gallipoli is the name for the narrow peninsula that forms the northwestern part of the Çanakkale straits, the slender waterway that links the Aegean Sea with the Marmara Sea. Always a strategic point in history for controlling access to Istanbul from the Mediterranean, Gallipoli became globally known due to the Allied assault during WW1. Organized by Sir Winston Churchill, the British Lord of the Admiralty at the time, it had the intention of capturing Istanbul. The fierce fighting that went on for nine months between the British and the Turkish armies caused one of the most sorrowful military stories in history. Today 31 war cemeteries are present on the peninsula with a number of memorials. Gallipoli is a very significant site for Australia and New Zealand, with Anzac day as a national holiday to commemorate all those who lost their lives in the war.