Remembering the Fallen Soldiers of Gallipoli
- Andrea Lemieux
- Apr 2
- 8 min read
On the western edge of Turkish Thrace, a small peninsula extends off the mainland, separating the Aegean Sea from the Sea of Marmara. It runs for about 37 miles, bordered on one side by the Gulf of Saros and the Dardanelles Strait on the other. Narrow beaches run around the edge of the peninsula from which the deeply incised slopes rise almost immediately out of the sea. It is a difficult terrain, covered almost entirely by steep slopes interspersed with deep valleys.
This is Gallipoli.
It was here, 110 years ago this month on April 25, 1915, where the doomed Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers landed to join the Gallipoli Campaign.
You may be asking why this topic appears on a website dedicated to wine. Well, one need not study the subject long to understand that with every wine comes a story, a story inextricably tied to the geography and history of its terroir.
And so it is with this in mind, amid the relative peace that we enjoy today, that we raise a glass with solemn respect, in remembrance of those who perished on this land in The Great War.
The Gallipoli Campaign
During World War I, the Allied Powers, lead by Great Britain, launched an attack on the shores of the Ottoman mainland, in an attempt to seize control of the Dardanelles Strait and, ultimately, take Istanbul from the Ottoman Empire, intending to knock the Ottomans out of the war and effectively destroy the Empire, while opening a path to the Black Sea for the Allied navy. Known to the Allies as the "Gallipoli Campaign," this bloody battle raged on from February 17, 1915 to January 9, 1916 with massive casualties on all sides, finally ending with an historic Ottoman victory.
What started as a sea battle took a deadlier turn when Allied forces brought the fight to land. British and European troops were joined in the spring by ANZAC soldiers who landed on April 25, 1915. They were met with fierce resistance from the Ottoman Army, commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk). A significant number died before even being able to scale the steep cliffs that form the peninsula’s spine. The bodies of so many Allied soldiers littered Gallipoli’s Aegean-facing beach that it was later renamed Kemikli Plajı, or Beach of Bones.
The ill-fated campaign dragged on for eight more terrible months. During this time, both sides suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships in what became one of the fiercest and more harrowing trench warfare battles of World War I. History has criticized Winston Churchill for needlessly sending in waves of troops to die long after the campaign should have been abandoned.
When he finally called the retreat, Allied deaths totaled over 56,000, including 8,709 from Australia and 2,721 from New Zealand, while Ottoman deaths (mostly Turkish) also exceeded 56,000.
"There is No Difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets"
This historic battle played a significant part in forming the national identities of Australians, New Zealanders and Turks alike. Used as pawns for a battle in a far away land by foreign leaders with little regard for their well being, the ANZACs nevertheless fought valiantly with legendary courage, spirit and endurance. The "ANZAC Spirit" forged in Gallipoli's "baptism by fire" is a point of deep pride and solemn remembrance for all Australians and New Zealanders. Similarly, an underpowered and outgunned Ottoman army defended its homeland from foreign invasion against impossible odds. And with this successful defense, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal, the Turkish people turned a corner and took the first step toward finding their identity as a nation, independent of their Ottoman roots.
And somehow, from the ashes of Gallipoli, these two proud communities, Johnnies and Mehmets, who fought and killed each other with historic valor, became kindred spirits. The Battle of Gallipoli, deeply personal to both sides, left its mark, a lasting mark of respect and warning.
The owner of Fine Turkish Wine, Robert Şükrü İçsezen, is named after his grandfather, Mehmet Şükrü Nuri İçsezen, who served as an Ottoman doctor in the trenches of Gallipoli. We do not know any details about his service, as Dr. Şükrü Bey refused to ever talk about the experience with anyone. He kept the trauma with him to his death many years later, but the lasting impact no doubt formed his identity: as a pacifist, dedicated to science and healing, and as a strong supporter of Atatürk, dedicated to a free and secular Turkish Republic.
Anzac Day
Known as Anzac Day, the April 25th landing is commemorated annually with deeper significance than even Remembrance Day. On Anzac Day in 1985, the Turkish Government officially recognized the name Anzac Cove. Later that year, a memorial installed at the Ari Burnu Cemetery was inscribed with a quotation attributed to Kemal Atatürk:
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
Anzac Day remembrance celebrations hold forth every year in Australia and New Zealand as well as in many of the other countries involved in the Gallipoli campaign and in countries that host Australian and New Zealand military bases including (but not limited to): Antarctica, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, France, India, Italy, Malta, and many more.
In addition, thousands of visitors gather every year in Anzac Cove for the Gallipoli Dawn Service. In the late 1990s, growing numbers of visitors (reaching 15,000 and more) resulted in the construction of a more spacious site on North Beach, known as the Anzac Commemorative Site. Ahead of the 2015 centennial anniversary, officials predicted that the event would be so enormously popular as to both overcrowd the site and endanger the safety of those attending, that governments held public lotteries to allocate passes.
How many hallowed battlegrounds across the world hold a commemorative service to honor those who fought for the other side of the host country?!? Indeed, the connection and respect between the descendants of those valiant Johnnies and Mehmets is something special and unique.
Finding Beauty in Tragedy
Remembrance exists outside of Anzac Day as well. Today, you cannot visit the peninsula without seeing war memorials. You do not even have to try to see them. So numerous and (in some cases) gigantic are they that you cannot help but see them and remember the great losses here. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) oversees 31 cemeteries on the peninsula. Memorials such as the Lone Pine Memorial, Hill 60, Chunuk Bair, Twelve Tree Copse Memorial, and Helles Memorial commemorate British, Australian, Indian, and New Zealand losses. While there are no large Ottoman military cemeteries, numerous memorials, including the Çanakkale Martyrs' Memorial, Cape Helles, the Turkish Soldier's Memorial on Chunuk Bair, and the memorial and open-air mosque commemorate their losses.
So deeply meaningful are these cemeteries and memorials for all who were involved in the campaign that people make pilgrimages to Çanakkale year-round. It is nearly impossible to meet a visiting or local Australian or New Zealander who has not visited at least once. And they are welcomed with open arms by the hosting Turks.
On a personal note, the aforementioned Dr. Şükrü did live to see some beauty come of the tragedy he experienced. His eldest child, Güner, would later fall in love and marry a man named Cyril Wright, the son of an English soldier who fought opposite Şükrü at Gallipoli. Cyril and Güner lived out their days together in a small seaside village near Çeşme until they both passed recently.
As a rule, humans do not like the ugly. We want to see and experience beauty whenever and wherever possible. It would be easy to leave the earth scarred by war and walk away from it. But to do so would disrespect both those who fell on the battlefield as well as the land scorched by the fighting. The peninsula’s name, Gallipoli, is the Italian form of the Greek name Καλλίπολις, meaning 'beautiful city', the original name of the modern town of Gelibolu. Now, thanks to the efforts of those paying respect to the fallen, and to the efforts of those who settled here after the war, it is once again a beautiful city.
The haunting beauty of Gallipoli awaits all who wish to explore all that it offers. Even if you are not able to visit the peninsula, this April 25th, raise a glass of wine in remembrance to all who fell on its beaches.
From Trenches to Trellises
Visitors, domestic and foreign, flood this part of Turkey every year. They come to camp, play on the sandy beaches, visit war memorials, and tour the wineries. Gallipoli also serves as something of a “jumping off point” to the Turkish Aegean islands, Troy, and the ruins at Assos on the Asian side of the province.
While the beaches and nature have existed for some time, the wineries are a fairly recent addition and one need only visit the vineyards to be reminded that this beautiful and lush peninsula has a tragic past.
The Gallipoli Peninsula enjoys a largely Mediterranean climate and benefits from cross breezes from both the Aegean and the Marmara seas. There is not a large diurnal temperature variation, but the cross breezes and moderately high elevations allow grapes to ripen while retaining sufficient acidity.
Grape varieties grown here include a few native grapes (largely Karasakız, Kolorko, and Yapıncak) but the heaviest focus of grapes and wine styles is international with vineyards given over to Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and Viognier.
Wineries range from small production to large scale. While the majority are clustered around Eceabat on the tip, there are wineries dotted along the entire peninsula.
Closest to where the peninsula starts to veer off from the mainland is Gali Bağları. Gali specializes in Merlot-based wines similar to those produced in Bordeaux's Right Bank. Further along is Ergenekon, a winery owned by former wine writer Şeyla Ergenekon and focusing on organically grown French varieties. Three wineries sit in Eceabat: Asmadan, Suvla, and Etruscan Vineyards. Asmadan has recently opened a winery and hotel near its Eceabat vineyards. Suvla is one of Turkey’s largest wineries. At its winery/shop/restaurant, you can taste a vast array of domestic and international grape-based wines. The most recently opened Etruscan Vineyards also focuses on French grapes. On the other side of the peninsula from Eceabat, Porta Caeli winery/hotel nestles among rolling hills and woodland (and also grows only French varieties).
Most accept visitors and provide tours with advance booking. And since several of the wineries also have onsite hotels, the winery experience you can have is limited only by how much time you have. While the grape composition in this part of Turkey is largely homogenous, each winery has something unique to offer.
Andrea Lemieux is an international wine expert with particular expertise in Turkish Wine. She is the author of The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine, the world's only comprehensive English language book on Turkish wine, and she is the founder of The Quirky Cork blog which is dedicated largely to Turkish wine.
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