Gallipoli Peninsula:

'And the band played "Waltzing Matilda", As we stopped to bury the slain. And we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs; And it started all over again.'
Eric Bogle

History:

To honor about 500.000 soldiers, who gave their lives on the gallipoli peninsula ( gallipoli campaign) during World War I, the southern half of the peninsula now acts as a national park preserving that time in the history. This is the spirit that  shows no war is cause for permanent hostilities but can serve as a basis for friendships as well. The region covers 33,000 hectares (330 square kilometres). The geological, archaelogical and environmantal features of the Gallipoli Peninsula have stimulated the region as a popular tourist spot. The Peninsula has been a bridgehead, a barrier and meeting place for different cultures over the centuries. Each year thousands of tourists particularly from Australia, and New Zealand join the ANZAC day festives. It is a profoundly emotional experience in a place where the national identities were forged. The Gallipoli Peninsula is equally revered as a site of remembrance by the allies (Britain, France and India) and by the Turkish people who suffered a quarter of a million casualties in defending their homeland against the allied invasion Anzac Day  (April 25th) is a national day of commemoration in both Australia and New Zealand.

The results of the the Gallipoli campaign was appalling. 26,111 Australian casualties of whom 8,141 were killed. In addition, New Zealand suffered 7,571 casualties of whom 2,431 were killed. Britain endured 21,255 dead over 120,000 casualties, while French troops lost about 10,000 over 27,000 casualties. India and Newfoundland lost 1350 and 49 soldiers respectively. The Turkish lost about 80.000 soldiers over 220,000 casualties.

Today Gallipoli peninsula serves as a national park nearby Canakkale, where several war memorials and cemetaries belonging to Turks, Australians, New Zealanders, British and French reflect the drama of those days. Every April the 25th, thousands of people from those countries meet here to commemorate the Gallipoli Campaign. And every March the 18th, thousand of people from all over the Turkey come to visit their ancestors and celebrate the victory of 1915 Sea Wars. Here is the pleace of everywhere, one land, thousand nations...

Tell me my friend said Mehmet
To the Anzac
Where are you from
You look miss your home
From Other side of the world said Anzac
It says on my tombstone
The soil cover me is not from my home
Don’t worry said Mehmet
You are here in my home
With me forever
You are a Mehmet forever
You are my brother

Bulent Ecevit
Former Prime Minister of Turkish Republic

Transportation And Principal Tourism Centres:

There are 3 types of Transportation to Canakkale – Galipoli Peninsula for our visitors. By  highways and Airways.

Firstly, in order to reach to Gallipoli from Canakkale city center, you could get on the ferry-jets, departing from Canakkale Ferry Harbour to Eceabat Province  or Kilitbahir Castle, then could start discover of Gallipoli Peninsula.

The second alternative is to go Lapseki Province from Canakkale by the following 33 km on north way. In here there are ferry-jets, every hour of the day to Gallipoli province. Then you could start your remarkable trip from Gallipoli province through Gallipoli Historical National Park. So as to get further information about ferryjets, please visit gestasdenizulasim.com.tr.

Third, for the visitors who comes from Istanbul way, there is a highway option could carry out by private cars or regular buses through Tekirdağ-Keşan-Şarköy to Gallipoli as well as flight option operated by The Turkish Airlines on specific days from Istanbul to Canakkale. So as to get further information, please visit turkishairlines.com.

Historical Importance of Gallipoli:

During World War I, the Gallipoli Campaign was the Allies last resort in getting back into the war. In fact the top general in Britain Lord Kitchener stated that if we get hold of Constantinople, which is now called Istanbul, we wouldn't win the battle but the war itself.

Gallipoli is an area of land, which is owned by Turkey. This area was crucial for the Russians because from here Britain could send them supplies. Germany asked Turkey to join forces in the First World War. This agreement shut the vital route of supplies to Russia. Reasons why it was so important the Gallipoli Campaign should succeed can be divided into short and long-term reasons. In conclusion it was considered that the Gallipoli campaign was very important to be successful for both short and long term reasons but maybe the most important reason was the threat and danger of Russia struggling in the east. This made it possible for the Germans to bring back their army to the west and set out upon the invasion of England. This thought feared the whole nation and set the importance for the Gallipoli Campaign to succeed.

The Gallipoli Historical National Park:

The Gallipoli Historical National Park covers an area of 33,000 hectares of land. It is full of traces of the war and it is very significant in the recent history of Turkey. You can reach the National Park from Canakkale by taking one of the car ferries to either Eceabat or Kilitbahir.
Throughout the Gallipoli Peninsula you come across monuments and cemeteries for the Turkish martyrs and the Allied forces. Thousand of the children and grandchildren of those Allied soldiers, especially the Australians and New Zealanders, who fought and died here come to visit every year to commemorate ANZAC Day on April 25. This great battle led to a firm friendship between the Turks and the Australians and New Zealanders; nations far from one another. 

How to visit the National Park?

For those who want to visit the Gelibolu Historical National Park on their own it can be quite difficult to see it everything. The best way to visit the site is to take one of the tours organised by the Çanakkale or Eceabat based travel agencies with professional guides.
However, for those who want to visit the region on their own they should consider starting from the Çanakkale Tanıtma Merkezi and Museum (the Gallipoli Promotion Centre and Museum) at Kabatepe or the Gelibolu Yarımadası Tarihi Milli Parkı Tanıtma Merkezi (The Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park Promotion Centre) near to Eceabat. It would also be a good idea to take some food and water with you as there are few facilities inside the National Park, in particular at the ANZAC and Suvla sectors. In particular, families with children should pay attention to this warning.

Starting from Eceabat:

For those coming from Çanakkale, once can cross the Strait either directly to Eceabat or by private ferry to Kilitbahir, directly opposite Çanakkale at the narrowest point of the Dardanelles. The Ottoman Sultan Fatih Mehmet the Conqueror had a fortress built at Kilitbahir as part of his preparations to besiege the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. The purpose of this was to prevent the Latin navy that could have come to the help of the Byzantines. Since the castle was seen as the lock of the Marmara Sea it was named Kilitbahir (Lock of the Sea). The castle served a strong defence point in the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign.The fortress, built in the shape of a clover leaf, is open to the public.

First stop, the National Park headquarters:

If starting at Eceabat, after getting off the ferry, one can drive south following the coastal road for a kilometre before reaching the headquarters of Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park. This can be a good place to start your tour. In the grounds of the headquarters there is the grave of an unknown Ottoman captain and the ruins of the Çamburnu Castle, really a stone artillery position constructed in 1807. There is also a cafeteria at the headquarters that serves light meals.

Kilitbahir Castle:

This castle, whose name means Lock of the Sea and is a masterpiece of Ottoman fortress construction, was built by Sultan Fatih the Conqueror in 1452. Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent later added a gate tower and strengthened and extended the walls. A unique design, with the three inner courtyards of the castle being in a clover leaf shape, the central keep was well protected by high outer walls. Much of the inner castle was constructed using stones taken from the site of the ancient city of Sestos. Parts of the Kilitbahir castle have recently been restored.

Seyit Onbaşı Monument and the Rumeli Mecidiye Battery:

Outside the village and beyond the Hamidiye Batteries on the left of the road above the Strait there is a statue of Seyit Onbaşı, an Ottoman corporal who served with an artillery unit. On the right there is the Mecidiye Battery. This battery, under the command of Captain Hilmi Bey, fought at this strategic point during the Allied naval attack of 18 March 1915. Most of the guns in the battery were destroyed by Allied gunfire and the many of guns' crews killed. However, according to stories told of the battle, Seyyit Onbaşı on his own lifted a shell weighing 276 kilograms onto his back, climbed up to the gun position, loaded the shell into an undamaged gun and fired it. This shell supposedly hit the French battleship the Bouvet and sank it. One the legends told about this incident is that the shell plunged into the Bouvet down its funnel. After the loss of the Bouvet and two British battleships, the commander of the Allied fleet, the British Admiral John de Robeck, ordered his remaining vessels to withdraw. Seyyit Onbaşı survived the war and returned to his homeland Havran.

Havuzlar:

Another 1.5 kilometres down the coastal road from the Seyyit Onbaşı statue you come to the hamlet of Havuzlar, clad in old plane trees. In ancient times this was the site for the city of Arrhiarel but no excavations have been carried out in the area. Current day Havuzlar has a number of historical public fountains, and the sweet water spring and its pools are believed to have been developed to provide water to vessels passing through the Strait. Havuzlar also serves as a small summer resort, with cafes and pensions by the waterfront.

The Havuzlar Martyrs Cemetery:

At the entrance to the hamlet by the sea there is a monument built in 1961 to the memory of two Ottoman officers and eight privates killed on June 21 1915 in fighting in the Kerevizdere sector at the toe of the peninsula. As at least 6,000 Ottoman soldiers are known to have died in the battles around Kerevizdere it can be said that this cemetery is somewhat symbolic. Some 2,500 French soldiers also lost their lives in the fighting in this sector.

The Balkan Harbi Şehitliği (The Balkan War Martyr Memorial):

The hill to the south of the National Park headquarters is called Çamburnu (Pine Point). Following the coastal road and to the right there is a 2.5 metre high monument in a small enclosure. It was built in 1962 to commemorate those Ottoman soldiers who died in the Balkan Wars of 1912 to 1914 and those who fell in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915. There is a scenic view of the Strait from here.

The Soğanlıdere Battery and Captain Şemsettin Çamoğlu Monument:

Continuing down the coast a further two kilometres the road turns inland and away from the sea. Here the Soğanlıdere Stream flows. There is a small cemetery for an Ottoman corporal and eight privates who were killed in a bombing raid by Allied aircraft.

Alçıtepe (Kirte):

Driving on from Soğanlıdere you pass the village of Behramlı on the right of the road, though there is nothing in the village to draw your attention. Two kilometres further south you come to the village of Alçıtepe. On the left of the road as you enter the village there is an abandoned military base where is located the Alçıtepe Garrison Monument. It is been said that the remains of some 10,000 Ottoman soldiers were brought up here by the villagers and buried. In their memory a marble monument has been constructed.  The old name for Alçıtepe was Kirte or Krithia. It was the objective of the British forces who landed on April 25, but was never reached by the invading forces during the entire campaign. Kirte later became the headquarters for Marshal Fevzi Çakmak. From the Garrison Monument drive on into the centre of the village. One hundred and fifty metres further on there is a private museum that is open daily.
If you turn right where the road in the village forks after the museum, in a westerly direction, the road leads to the scene of the fighting in the Third Battle of Krithia, as it was known to the Allies. Here in June and July was some of the heaviest fighting in the campaign. British and Indian troops advanced in this sector, supported by land and naval artillery, and captured a series of Ottoman positions. In counter attacks to recapture the trenches, an estimated 14,000 Ottoman troops and thousands of Allied soldiers lost their lives. Along the road leading to the southern end of the peninsula there are the Twelve Tree Copse and Pink Farm cemeteries, the last resting place of many of the Allied soldiers who fell in the fighting in the sector

The Son Ok (Last Arrow) Monument:

The road from Alçitepe to the west goes to the Son Ok Monument. This monument was built here as it was the location where the last bullet was fired in the Third Battle of Krithia and the spot where almost one thousand Ottoman soldiers fell. The inscription on the monument says that the Turkish soldiers holding the position had run out of ammunition and carried out a bayonet charge to push the Allied soldiers back. .

The Sargıyeri Monument:

One kilometre away from the Son Ok Monument there is grand Mehmetçik Monument. This bronze monument is depicted as the guardian of the Sargıyeri Monument. The name sargiyeri (wound wrapping place) comes from the area being the site of a mobile hospital. During the fighting on and after 28 June, Allied artillery fire hit the hospital, killing many of the medical personnel and the wounded who were being treated. 

The Nuri Yamut Monument:

This private monument was built in the memory of the 10,000 soldiers were killed in the battles around Zığındere, known to the Allies as Gully Ravine. The monument was ordered to be built by Nuri Yamut Pasha in1943. It is said that the general sold his home in İstanbul in order to fund the building of this monument. The remains of some of those who died fighting here lie beneath the marble inscription.

Seddülbahir:

After visiting the Nuri Yamut monument, take the same road back past the Son Ok Monument and the Allied cemeteries of Twelve Tree Copse and Pink Farm and further on Lancashire Landing. The road turns near İlyas Point and then you see the Seddülbahir village and the castle, built in 1660, in the distance

The Helles Monument:

The monument at the very toe of the peninsula near Seddülbahir is the British Helles monument. It is on a hill that overlooks two of the beaches where the British 29th Division landed on April 25. The central column of the monument is 30 metres high. On the surrounding walls are inscribed the names of 20,790 British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the campaign and have no known graves. On the front face of the column there are the names of the major ships that took part in the campaign while on the side faces are the names of the units who fought in the Helles, Anzac and Suvla sectors.

Ertuğrul Cove (V Beach):

On the hill just below the Helles Monument there is the Ertuğrul Battery. One of the guns from this battery and the emplacements are still in position. On the morning of April 25 the British began landing troops at Ertuğrul Cove. However, due to the determined defence of the Ottoman troops stationed above the beach, the invaders made little headway. The attack was resumed with strong artillery support and the landing made good. However, the British suffered massive casualties getting ashore..

The Yahya Çavuş Memorial Cemetery for Martyrs:

The commander of one of the Ottoman platoons stationed above V Beach was Yahya Çavuş. The sergeant and his 63 men held their position against overwhelming odds for most of the day, all dying in its defence. This monument commemorates Yahya Çavuş and his fallen comrades.

V Beach Cemetery:

The V Beach Cemetery contains the graves of many of the British officers and men who were killed in the landing at the cove on April 25.

İlk Şehitler Anıtı (First Martyrs Memorial) :

Located in the village of Seddülbahir next to the castle is the monument for the first Ottoman soldiers who died in the Gallipoli Campaign. On November 3, only days after the Ottoman Empire entered the World War One, British warships bombarded the defences at the mouth the Strait. One of the shells caused a massive explosion when it struck ammunition stored in the castle, killing five officers and 81 privates. The mass grave of those killed in the blast is below the monument.

Hisarlık Hill - Şehitler Abidesi (Monument to the Martyrs):

The Şehitler Abidesi is the symbol of the Historical National Park. The monument can be seen for up to 40 kilometres from the sea and from the opposite shores of the Strait. To get to the monument you drive past Morto Bay and onto the Hisarlık Hill. This was the site of the ancient city of Elaeus.

The great naval attack of the Allied fleet on March 18 saw 18 capital ships sail past the headland here and enter the Strait. The fleet opened a heavy bombardment on the defences on either side of the waterway as they progressed up the Strait, coming under an equally heavy fire from the land based guns. However, the Allies were unaware that a field of 26 sea mines had been laid by the small vessel the Nusrat in Erenköy Bay. The French battleship the Bouvet struck a mine in the bay and sank with more than 600 of crew on board. According to some accounts, it was a shell fired by Seyyit Onbaşı from the Rumeli Mecidiye Battery that sank the Bouvet. Two British battleships, the Ocean and the Irresistible, were also sunk by mines and shell fire. Three other battleships were damaged. This operation had as its objective to enter the Marmara and then sail on to İstanbul and force its surrender. Instead it ended in retreat. So it is that at this point that the 41.70 metre high monument was built for the 253,000 Ottoman soldiers who died in the campaign.

From the Kabatepe Information Centre to ANZAC Cove:

After we visit the Şehitler Abidesi we move on towards Kabatepe and the Kabatepe Information Centre. When you turn right from the information centre travel for three kilometres alone the shore. Among the Allied cemeteries on or near the coast are Shell Green, Beach, Shrapnel Valley and Plugge's Plateau cemeteries.

Mehmetçiğe Saygı Anıtı (The Monument to respect Mehmetçik):

Another route to take is to take the road that turns to the right just after the Kabatepe Museum that is sign posted for Conbayırı and Lone Pine. Less than two kilometres along this road there is the Mehmetçiğe Saygı Anıtı.
This is a monument and the stature there were inspired by a speech given by the then Australian Governor General Lord Richard Casey, when he visited the peninsula in 1967. Casey, who served at Gallipoli as a lieutenant, told of how in a lull in the fighting a Turkish soldier carried a wounded British soldier from his trench and over to the Allied trench only metres away and, leaving him with his comrades, returned to his own lines
When you continue to the north you come to the Kanlı Sırt Monument and then you see the Lone Pine monument and cemetery.

Kanlisirt Aniti (Kanlisirt Memorial), Anzac, Gallipoli:

Heroically defended Kanlisirt…

To the Turks, Lone Pine at Anzac was Kanlisirt, ‘Bloody Ridge’. Turkish losses in the fighting around this spot were high and today the Turkish defence of the area is remembered on a large concrete monolith situated beside the road leading up from the coast from Kaba Tepe to Lone Pine and on to Conkbayiri (Chunuk Bair). On its face, in Turkish, the Kanlisirt Aniti (Kanlisirt Memorial) has this text:

In order to help the British 9th Army Corps landing at Anarfarta district [Suvla Bay] on 6-7August 1915, the Anzac force attacked the Turkish 19th and 16th Divisions, who were defending the Ariburnu front, to hold them there. The units of the 16th Division, in spite of their heavy losses of 1520 martyrs and 4750 wounded during the extremely violent fights, heroically defended Kanlisirt.

This memorial might well be called a ‘battlefield narrative’ memorial for it provides on the site itself a Turkish interpretation of what happened at Lone Pine, an action well known to Australians. The words ‘heroically defended Kanlisirt’ would have found no argument from the Australians who also suffered over 2,000 casualties in that battle.

Members of the Australian Historical Mission of February-March 1919 at lunch on Hill 60, Gallipoli. Zeki Bey, a Turkish officer who provided Charles Bean with much historical information about the Turkish side of the Anzac battles and who commanded a Turkish unit at the Battle of Lone Pine (Kanlisirt), is second from left.

Lone Pine:

The Lone Pine monument is the main Australian memorial on the peninsula, and has inscribed upon it the names of 3,268 Australians who died in the campaign and have no known grave.
There is also a memorial to 456 New Zealand soldiers who died in the fighting near Lone Pine and whose graves are not known. The memorial also lists the names of 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea. The Lone Pine cemetery contains the graves of more than 1,000 Allied soldiers, mainly Australians, who died fighting in the vicinity.

The Australian attack at Lone Pine on the afternoon of 6 August was very successful and a significant amount of the Turkish front line and rear trenches feel into Anzac hands. An even greater disaster might have befallen the Turks if the attackers had been able to advance over the ridge and down into the Turkish approaches in a small valley called the Cup.

57. Alay Sehitliği (The 57th Regiment Cemetery for Martyrs):

The 57th Infantry Regiment was one of the most famous units to serve in the campaign. On the first day of the land battles, Mustafa Kemal gave the men of the regiment the order, "I am not ordering you to attack. I am ordering you to die. During the time before we die other forces and commanders will take our place."
From the lowest private to the regiment's commander all of those who received this order died during the campaign. The monument and representational cemetery commemorate the 57th Regiment. In the grounds of the memorial there is a statue commemorating the last Turkish veteran of the campaign, who died at the age of 110 in 1994 while nearby there is the Mehmet Çavuş Monument

Conkbayırı (Chunuk Bair):

On the road leading to Conkbayırı from Lone Pine, you see the Allied Johnstone's Jolly, 4th Battalion, Courtney's and Steels Quinn's Post and Baby 700 cemeteries. After Quinn's Post, the road forks, with the left hand track leading to The Nek and Walker's Ridge cemeteries. Taking the right hand fork leads to the Baby 700 cemetery and Battleship Hill. It was on this hill that Mustafa Kemal on the morning of April 25 stopped the ANZAC forces that were advancing towards Conkbayırı, one of their first day objectives. There is a monument on the southern flank of Conkbayırı commemorating the holding of the Allied advance.
This monument was built in memory of the 952 New Zealand soldiers who died fighting in this sector. Many of those who fell capturing and holding this hill are buried in the cemetery below the monument, though only ten of the more than 600 in the cemetery have been identified. Troops under the direct command of Mustafa Kemal threw the British forces that had relieved the New Zealanders off the hill on August 10

Atatürk Zafer Anıtı (The Atatürk Victory Monument):

The monument and statue on the northern flank of Conkbayırı is where a shrapnel ball hit Mustafa Kemal's watch in his pocket on August 10. Though the watch was shattered, he survived and continued to lead his troops.

Kocaçimentepe (Kocaçimen Hill):

Following the road past Conkbayırı and the next rise, Besim Hill, you come to Kocaçimen Hill, the highest point on the peninsula. Below this hill, the battles on the Suvla plain, known to Turks as the Anafartalar battles, took place. Mustafa Kemal was made the commander of the Anafartalar Group soon after British forces landed on August 6 near the salt lake that can be seen from the hill. In the first four days after this landing, the Allied forces under the command of General Ian Hamilton lost 25,000 men.

Anafartalar:

Following the road off Conkbayırı down the ridgeline you come to an intersection. The left hand turn takes you to the village of Büyük Anafartalar. Four kilometres from the village on your left is the Hill 60 cemetery. Taking a side road to the left just beyond the village towards its sister village of Kücük Anafartalar and then turning left, you come to the Turkish monument at Mestantepe.

Bigalı-Çamlı Tekke/the Headquarters of Mustafa Kemal:

If you turn to the left off the road from Conkbayırı, you come to the village of Çamlı Tekke, known to locals as Bigalı. Here is the house that served as the headquarters of Mustafa Kemal for much of the campaign, including when he was the Anafartalar Group Commander. On August 21, the Allied forces launched their last major attacks on the Suvla or Anafartalar front. Despite launching a series of heavy assaults, the British forces could not break through the Turkish defence, with all attacks being repelled.

The Akbaş Mevkisi ve Şehitliği (The Akbaş Region and Cemetery of Martyrs):

This monument, located on the coastal highway leading into Eceabat, commemorates the hundreds of Ottoman soldiers who were killed by Allied bombardments at a field hospital at this site and the sinking of a hospital ship by a British submarine.

Foreign Cemeteries In Gallipoli Peninsula:

BEACH CEMETERY (391 burials) is a curved plot 80m in length just above the point Hell spit facing the sea and was used throughout the occupation.

SHRAPNEL VALLEY CEMETERY (683 burials) derived its name from the heavy shelling in the are in the first days of the landing. The valley was a main line of advance and, later, of communication with the front line. Burials were made in it during the occupation and some isolated graves were brought in after the armistice.

PLUGGE'S PLATEAU CEMETERY (21 burials) is the smallest cemetery on the Peninsula and is only accessible along a steep footpath from behind Shrapnel Valley Cemetery. The plateau was named after Colonel Arthur Plugge, commanding the Auckland Battalion, who placed his headquarters there.

SHELL GREEN CEMETERY (499 burials) is 300m up a hilly track from the coast road, which may not bedriveable in wet weather. Shell Green was a field sloping seawards at the southern end of the Anzac area and took its name from the frequency with which it was shelled.

LONE PINE CEMETERY (1167 burials) and LONE PINE MEMORIAL (4930 Names) are named after the solitiary pine tree that grew here at the southern part of the Plateau 400. The position was taken in the initial invasion but retaken by the Turks on the evening of the next day. It was again captured on 6th August and held until the evacuation. The memorial names 4221 Australian and 709 New Zealand soldiers who have no known grave.

JOHNSTON'S JOLLY CEMETERY (181 burials) stands on the northern part of Plateau 400 and was named after Colonel George Johnston, commanding the 2nd Australian Division Artillery, who had field guns placed to "jolly-up" the enemy.    

7TH FIELD AMBULANCE CEMETERY (640 burials) is named after the 7th Australian Field Ambulance. It was greatly enlarged after the armistice.

EMBARKATION PIER CEMETERY ( 944 burials) takes its name from a pier built early in August at the north end of the Ocean Beach, over which the wounded from the attack on the Sari Bair Ridge were to be evacuated. Turkish artillery fire prevented it from being used for this purpose.

NO.2 OUTPOST CEMETERY (152 burials) and NEW ZEALAND NO.2 OUTPOST CEMETERY (183 burials) are two small cemeteries within 100m of each other and named after outpost established by the Canterbury Battalion,New Zealand Infantry, soon after the landings. Exposed to heavy fire from the Turkish positions in the hills to the east, the post could only be approached by night until mid-May when a deep communication trench was completed. Both cemeteries were established during the occupation.

CANTERBURY CEMETERY (27 burials) was so named from the fact that the majority of the burials in it are of men of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles.   

COURTNEY'S AND STEEL'S POST CEMETERY (225 burials) and QUINN'S POST CEMETERY (473 burials) are named after three Australian infantry officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Courtney, Major Thomas Steel and Captain Hugh Quinn. The posts in question were scrub-covered recesses in the gully wall occupied by the Anzacs on the first day of the invasion and held througout the campaign.

WALKER'S RIDGE CEMETERY (92 burials) is named after Brigadier Harold Bridgwood Walker; the Brigade captured the ridge on the first day of the Anzac landing and it was held against a strong Turkish attack on 30 June. The cemetery is 250m along a level track from the road.

THE NECK CEMETERY (326 burials) and BABY 700 CEMETERY (493 burials) were both made after the armistice and nearly all the dead were unidentified, although the majority of them would be Anzacs-many of them of the Third Australian Light Horse Brigade killed on 7 August. The Nek is the track along the top of the spur running up to Baby 700- a hill so named in contrast to the larger Battleship Hill known as Big 700.

CHUNUK BAIR CEMETERY (632 burials) and CHUNUK BAIR NEW ZEALAND MEMORIAL (850 names) take their name from the southern summit(now known as Conkbayiri) of the Sari Bair, the ridge which dominates the centre of the Peninsula. It was a main objective in the battle of Sari Bair from 6 to 10 August in a combined New Zealand,British and Gurkha assault. The crest was reached on the 8th and was held against incessant Turkish attacks on the following day, before being lost to a further counter-attack on the 10th. This loss marked the end of the effort to capture the cenrtral hills on the Peninsula and was a turning point in the campaign. Burials made by the Turks after the battle of Sari Bair form the basis of the cemetery, with others being made after the armistice. Across the road from the cemetery and memorial to the missing stands in New Zealand National Memorial in the form of a tall tapering stone pylon.

THE FARM CEMETERY (652 burials) takes its name from a shepperd's stone hut which stood on the western slope of Chunuk Bair. It is reached along a steep footpath which runs from the fire-break that starts south of Chunuk Bair Cemetery.

REDOUBT CEMETERY (2027 burials) is 100m west of the road along a track flanked by pine trees.Its name derives from the Redoubt Line - the front line of British and French trenches established in May. It was started immediately after the second battle of Krithia in the rear of the support line.

SKEW BRIDGE CEMETERY (607 burials) is named after an angled or "skew" bridge that crossed Kanli Dere near where the cemetery now stands. Burials began after the second battle Krithia in May, but the majority were brought in from other small battlefields.in July and whose graves are unknown.

PINK FARM CEMETERY (602 burials) takes its name from the reddish soil on which it stands.The area was the site of a forward supply base throughout the campaign all included a small cemetery which was greatly enlarged after the armistice with burials from the surrounding area.

LANCASHIRE LANDING CEMETERY (1252 burials) stands on a cliff overlooking the beach on which the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers landed on 25th April. It was begun immediately after the landings and some further burials were moved into it after the armistice.

V BEACH CEMETERY (697 burials) is named after one of the five beaches around the toe of the Peninsula that were used in the Helles landings. The cemetery is right on the beach and was begun on the day after the invasion. Nearby is the solitary grave of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie VC CB CMG.

THE HELLES MEMORIAL (20771 Names) is both the memorial to the Gallipoli campaign and to men who fell in that campaign and whose graves are unknown or who were lost or buried at sea in Gallipoli waters(other than Australians and New Zealanders who are named on other memorials). Inscribed on it are the names of the all ships that took part in the campaign and the titles of the army formations and the units which served on the Peninsula. It stands on the tip of the Peninsula and is in the form of an obelisk over 30m high that can be seen by ships passing through the Dardanelles.    

CHANAK CONSULAR CEMETERY contains graves dating from the 1860's when a British consulate was established in the town of Canakkale. Most of the 39 Commonwealth War Graves in the cemetery date from the period after the armistice with Turkey in 1918 when three medical units of the British Army moved into Canakkale as part of occupying force. The cemetery is 2km east of the ferry terminal, near to the town stadium. The cemetery is kept locked and visitors should ask at the Commission's office in Canakkale for the key.

4th BATTALION PARADE GROUND: This cemetery is accessible only on foot and lies some 300 metres left from the road along the ridge between Lone Pine Cemetery and Courtney’s Post. It was used by the 4th Battalion AIF from the end of April to the beginning of June 1915 and is the final resting place of thirty-four members of that unit. After the war, the remains of forty-four men of the 3rd Battalion, most of whom died between 19 and 23 May, were brought in from the 3rd Battalion Parade Ground and the 22nd Battalion Parade Ground cemeteries. There are now 116 burials in the cemetery, of which all but nine are Australian. Seven of the graves are unidentified.

TWELWE TREE COPSE CEMETERY AND N.Z MEMORIAL: Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery and N.Z. Memorial(179 names) recall a stand of pines named by men of the 86th and 87th Brigades. The copse was used as a forward observation post for the artillery but was later destroyed by shellfire. The memorial within the cemetery commemorates New Zealand soldiers who died in the second battle of Krithia and during the fighting on the Helles Front in July and whose graves are unknown.

AZMAK CEMETERY, SUVLA: Suvla is the Northernmost of the three areas into which the fighting on Gallipoli, and the cemeteries on the Peninsula, are divided. Its occupation began with the landing of the IX Corps (10th (Irish) and 11th (Northern) Divisions) and the 53rd (Welsh) and 54th (East Anglian) Divisions, on the 6th-11th August, 1915, on either side of the low, sandy shores of Suvla Bay. Cemetery, it recalls the Northern part of the Suvla operations. There are now over 1,000 Great War casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over three-fifths are unidentified and the names of 53 soldiers from the United Kingdom and three from Newfoundland, known or believed to be buried among them, are recorded on special tablets. The cemetery covers an area of 3,541 square metres.Azmak Cemetery stands at the foot of the line of hills which stretches North-Eastward along the coast from Suvla Point and on the south side of Azmak Dere, a watered ravine which runs south-westward into the north side of the Salt Lake.

HILL 10 CEMETERY: Hill 10 is a low isolated mound on the north side of the Salt Lake, close to the sea shore. It was taken by the 9th Lancashire Fusiliers and the 11th Manchesters on the early morning of the 7th August 1915. The cemetery was made after the war by the concentration of isolated graves and of the small cemeteries known as 88th Dressing Station, 89th Dressing Station, Kangaroo Beach, "B" Beach, 26th C.C.S. and Park Lane. (Three graves of November, 1915, were already on the site.) It covers an area of 3,258 square yards; and it contains the graves of 492 sailors and soldiers from the United Kingdom, eight soldiers from Newfoundland and one from Australia, and 142 men whose unit in our forces is not known. The unnamed graves are 150 in number, and special memorials are erected to 55 sailors and soldiers from the United Kingdom and one man of the Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train, known or believed to be buried among them. A wide belt of shrubs is planted on either side and at the back of the cemetery, which faces west towards the sea. 

GREEN HILL CEMETERY: The cemetery lies on the east side of the Anzac-Suvla Road and can be seen from Suvla and from Anzac. Green Hill Cemetery was made after the war by the concentration of isolated graves from the Suvla battlefields of August 1915, and from certain small cemeteries. The cemetery covers an area of 10,458 square yards; and it contains the graves of 773 soldiers from the United Kingdom (including a very high proportion of Yeomanry), two from Newfoundland, and 2,196 whose unit in our forces could not be ascertained. The unnamed graves number 2,589, and special memorials are erected to 117 soldiers from the United Kingdom who are known, or believed, to be buried among them.

HILL 60 (NEW ZEALAND) MEMORIAL: Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial is situated in Hill 60 Cemetery, which lies among the old trenches. It is reached along a 800 metre track, which requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle during wet weather. The Memorial takes the form of an obelisk 22 feet high, rising from a stone platform placed in the middle of the cemetery, and commemorates the New Zealand soldiers who fell on Hill 60 and whose graves are unknown. The names of the war dead are inscribed on panels built into the masonry at the base of the obelisk.

NNEW ZEALAND NO.2 OUTPOST CEMERETY: New Zealand No. 2 Outpost Cemetery was named from the burials carried out by the Nelson Company. It is, in fact, one long grave, on the East side of the Anzac-Suvla road, between No. 2 Outpost and Embarkation Pier Cemeteries. It was made in September 1915. The cemetery covers an area of 469 square yards, and it contains the graves of 2 named soldiers from the United Kingdom and 150 whose names and units are alike unknown. Special memorials are erected to 13 soldiers from New Zealand, 10 from the United Kingdom and 8 from Australia, known or believed to be buried in the cemetery. On the North and South sides of the cemetery are thick belts of shrubs, and on the East side a belt of trees thirty feet wide.

ARI BURNU CEMETERY:Ari Burnu Cemetery, named from the Cape at the North end of Anzac Cove, was made in 1915, and in 1926 and 1927 graves from Kilid Bahr Anglo-French Cemetery and Gallipoli Consular Cemetery were concentrated into it. There are now over 250 Great War casualties commemorated at this site. The names of three soldiers from Australia and two from New Zealand, for whom there is evidence of burial in this cemetery, are recorded on special tablets; and other tablets record the names of three Indian soldiers who were buried at Kilid Bahr. The Cemetery covers an area of 1,824 square metres.

THE FRENCH WAR CEMETERY AND CANAKKALE MARTYRS MEMORIAL: The French War Cemetery and Çanakkale Martyrs Memorial overlook Morto Bay on the south of the Peninsula. The French War Cemetery commemorates the 14,300 French troops who died in the Gallipoli campaign, some of whom are buried in individual graves whilst the remains of others are contained in ossuaries within the cemetery. The Canakkale Martyrs Memorial is over 40m high and commemorates Turkish losses in the Battle of Canakkale, as the campaign is known there.

LALA BABA CEMETERY: Lala Baba Cemetery (216 burials) is named after a low hill on the isthmus between Suvla Bay and the Salt Lake, and was taken on 6 August. The cemetery is reached along a 4km track which is soft and sandy in parts and a 4-wheel drive vehicle is required.

Don't Leave Without:

-Seeing Gallipoli and visiting Martyrs

-Visiting cemeteries, memorials and monuments

-Watching sun set at the hills

-Diving at bays of Gallipoli…

REGULAR AND SPECIAL TOURS

A car is essentially necessary for visiting Gallipoli Peninsula. If you have got a car it will be both more easy and more comprehensive undoubtedly. But unless you have got a car it is possible to join tours of Canakkale - Gallipoli which are arranged by domestic travel agents and which are rarely in winter time but possible everyday in summer time. So as to learn more information please visit Travel Agents page.