A glimpse of Çanakkale

We stayed two nights in Çanakkale, the major port on the Dardanelles straight, battlefield of the 1915 “Dardanelles Campaign” and still one of the most important waterways on earth.

We first found a parking spot on the beach on the outskirts of the town but we moved after we had a visit by a drunk man who started pushing for money. Police arrived in a matter of minutes – probably a receptionist of a nearby hotel had called them – and the episode finished there.

So we moved downtown and parked next to the channel. Despite this incident we feel pretty secure in Turkey whle we are wild camp in different towns.

If you want to read more about Çanakkale, start from Wikipedia on the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Çanakkale

Now let me inform you in short that it’s a vivid town of 190k inhabitants worthy a 2-day stay at least. First it’s the best vantage point to watch international tankers heading from/to Bosphorus straight of Istanbul and the Black Sea.

The seafront is pleasant and full of cafès and local restaurants. From there you can walk in the old market, which is pretty compact but vivid.

You can find 2-3 nice little restaurants offering sardines (sardalya) and other fish in sandwich, in bloody cheap prices (from 10-25 Turkish liras).

On the seafront you will certainly encounter a wooden Troyan horse, which is probably the closest thing to the original featured in the Iliad of Omer. It’s a fake, a Hollywood fake but still impressive: the horse was a gift of the “Troy” movie production to the city of Çannakale.

On the way to Çanakkale we were impressed with the under construction “1915” bridge, which will be operating in March 18th, 2021, the date of the “Battle of Gallipoli” in 1915.

It will be the longest suspended bridge in the world with a 2023 span. In 2023, Turkish Republic will celebrate its 100 years.