15 new martyrs’ monuments to be erected in Turkey’s Gallipoli

Ömer Erbil – ÇANAKKALE

Fifteen new martyrs’ monuments will be erected in the northwestern province of Çanakkale (Dardanelles), a historic location which witnessed the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915, as part of a competition conducted by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry. 

The 1915 battle, which took place in the province’s Gallipoli district, marked a turnaround in favor of the Turks against the Allied forces during World War I.

Many people who lost their lives during the war had lain beneath where they fell, without a ceremony or funerals, but many cemeteries in different spots had been established near hospitals in memory of them. 

Initiating and organizing a competition called the “International Idea and Design Contest for Gallipoli Peninsula Peace Park,” the ministry’s Directorate of Gallipoli Historic Area and Battle of the Dardanelles (ÇATAB) is set to establish the martyrs’ memorials in 15 different areas selected from those cemeteries.

The competition will contain projects with ideas in different areas such as architecture, landscape gardening, engineering, urban design, regional planning and artworks.

The competition also aims to fulfill an ecological awareness of nature, including modern architectural and environmental approaches, the encouragement of fine arts, the development of related issues and the reinforcement of professional ethics values. 

The results of the competition will be announced on Jan. 9, 2018, with the winner of the competition to win a prize worth 200,000 Turkish Liras. The competition will reward 10 projects with prizes worth between 20,000 and 200,000 liras.  

Meanwhile, the jury of the competition released a report for those set to attend, stressing that the establishment of the 15 new martyrs’ memorials is a bid to endure the memories of those who perished while fighting for their nation.

The jury’s report also stressed on the significance of peace and the rekindling of the memories of people who lost their lives in the war that later led to the country’s independence war. 

The battle was fought in the Dardanelles Strait in 1915 in Gallipoli. The victory gave Turkey a massive morale boost, which enabled it to wage the Independence War and eventually, in 1923, form a republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.