Çanakkale, Turkey--Osman Eksi, a 28-year-old Turkish firefighter, surveys the World War I monuments on the Gallipoli peninsula and wonders if there would have been a post-Ottoman Turkey if his forefathers had not shown such heroism.
"If our martyrs had not sacrificed themselves at Gallipoli, had there not been such bravery displayed on the frontlines, there would be no freedoms for us to enjoy today," said Eksi.
"It's a key moment for us, a crucial battle for the Turkish people who united in one body, one heart," he said.
In English-speaking countries, the battlefield sites have become strongly associated as a place of pilgrimage for young Australians and New Zealanders who come to remember the sacrifices of their ancestors.
But the place also has tremendous importance for Turks and the power of its symbolism has only grown in the last years under the rule of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) ahead of the battle's 100th anniversary this week.
The Ottoman Empire ended WWI on the losing side, exhausted and facing collapse.
But the resistance of Ottoman forces in the nine-month battle is celebrated as a triumph that helped the creation of the modern state in 1923.
The Battle of Gallipoli left tens of thousands dead on both sides, with some sources putting the numbers killed on the Ottoman side at 86,000.
But their resistance thwarted the Allies' aim of pushing eastwards to take Constantinople and knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war. After a botched campaign the last Allied troops were evacuated in January 1916.
Turks call it "Canakkale Zaferi" (The Canakkale Victory), after the name of the western province containing the Gallipoli Peninsula.
"Canakkale gecilmez" (Canakkale cannot be trespassed) is a common phrase in the nationalist vocabulary of Turks.
AFP
