Apr 27 2008
Canakkale at the heart of history
It’s a fair bet that you haven’t heard of Canakkle.
Let me place it on the map for you. The province of Canakkale lies on both sides of the Dardanelles which connect the Sea of Marmara to the Aegean Sea. Its shores touch both Europe and Asia and regular ferries chug across the Straits between the peninsulas of Gelibolu and Biga.
Canakkale lies at the heart of our history, it was a crossing point for many armies, traders and migrating peoples, and remembered as the setting for two bloody wars.
Gallipolli
In Australia we know of it as the place during World War I where Turkish troops maintained the defense of the region against enemy forces. But we never knew its name.
We called Gelibolu as Gallipoli, and half a million young men died here in a minor campaign which assumed considerable importance to Australians and Kiwis.
The Turks named it Canakkale : Unpassable.
But Canakkale was the scene of another, much earlier war. On Hisarlik at Canakkale, 3,000 years ago, stood the city of Troy, a sunny metropolis with broad streets and beautiful palaces.
Troy
The Trojan War was the most famous war in the ancient Western world.
Troy was destroyed many times, including once in the mid 1200s BCE, shortly before the collapse of Mycenaean Bronze Age civilization. A memory of this collapse transformed the story of an ancient war into a powerful metaphor for the ending of civilization through lust and violence.
Once, Troy dominated the trading route between Europe and Asia, between East and West. When it was destroyed by invading armies, the spectacle of that violence and horror lasted in our psyches to modern times.
Stories are still being told about the Trojan War, while in Australia we still tell of the Anzacs. Why can’t we remember the name of Canakkale?
Like to shout me a cold beer?
Great article, thanks for sharing it this Anzac Day.