Çanakkale

Etymology

The place where Çanakkale is today had a different name in the 19th century. At the time, it was called Kale-i Sultaniye. In 1890, this name became the official name of the city. Çanakkale was very important in the Ottoman period because it had a strong castle. The name Kale-i Sultaniye, or in modern Turkish Sultaniye Castle, shows this important role.

At the end of the 17th century, pottery making started to grow in the city. Çanakkale became famous for it is pottery. A traveler in that time liked the pottery very much and compared it with the pottery made in Delft, a city in  Netherlands. Because of this, people started to call the city Çanak Kalesi, which means “Pot Castle.”Also Çanakkale has a lot of natural beauties.One of this Ayazma Nature Park.Ayazma Nature Park has many natural beauties and is located in the Bayramiç district.

There are a lot of waterfalls, walking path and picnic area.

HISTORY

The old center of the province was Biga. In the republic period, the name and the center of the province changed to Çanakkale because of the big victory in the Çanakkale war. The name Çanakkale comes from the pottery work that was very common in the area. When Kale-i Sultaniye and pottery became two symbols of the city, people started to call the place Çanakkale, which means “Castle of Pots.”

In 1452, Fatih Sultan Mehmet built Kilitbahir Castle in the village of Kilitbahir. He built it to stop the help from the Papal State to Byzantium and to control the Çanakkale Strait better.

In 1915, the Çanakkale Wars happened between the Ottoman Empire and the Allied Powers. During the sea battle, the Allied navies lost many ships and soldiers, so they could not pass the strait. Later, the Allied Powers started to attack from the land. During the land battles, Turkish soldiers (Mehmetçik) fought very bravely. Because of this, the Allied soldiers could not go forward, and both sides could not win. The land attack ended without success.

18 March Çanakkale Victory

The 18 March Çanakkale Victory is one of the most important moments in Turkish history. This big battle happened during the First World War. In this battle, the Ottoman Empire won a great victory against the Allied Powers. This victory showed the strong effort of the Turkish nation for freedom and independence. It also showed the world how brave and determined the Turkish people were.