Çanakkale is your best base for visiting the Gallipoli battlefields and the ruins of Troy.
Located on the southern shore at the anrrowest point in the Dardanelles strait, Çanakkale has been a major strong-point in the defense of the Dardanelles from the time of the Trojans through World War I.
Today Çanakkale is a pleasant town with adequate hotels to serve travelers crossing the Dardanelles via the Dardanelles car ferries.
You can visit Çanakkale and either Gallipoli or Troy on a whirlwind day-trip from Istanbul, but to see them both—or to tour either one in a less-rushed fashion, I recommend a more comfortable overnight excursion by car or bus. If you have the time, a multi-day excursion by car is the optimal way to see these sights.
What to See & Do
Sights to see in Çanakkale itself include the sturdy Çimenlik Fortress, with its Military Museum and Naval Museum; and the Çanakkale Archeology Museum.
Across the Dardanelles are the Gallipoli battlefields of World War I, which take a full dy or more to visit thoroughly.
South of Çanakkale are the storied ruins of ancient Troyand, farther south along the Aegean coast, Alexandria Troas, the Apollo Smintheon, and ancient Assos.
From Geyikli Feribot İskelesi you can take a ferryboat to the island of Bozcaada to enjoy its small pensions and boutique hotels, open-air restaurants serving local wines, and its quiet, laid-back lifestyle.
Inland from Troy, legendary Mount Ida (Kazdağı) raises its forested slopes, sheltering a few mountain lodgesgood for a getaway from the bustle of town life.
Where to Stay & Dine
Çanakkale has an adequate supply of adequately comfortable hotels except on and around ANZAC Day(April 25th) when the World War I Gallipoli campaign is commemorated.
Transport & Tours
You can easily come to Çanakkale on your own car or bus, and perhaps even by plane.
If you’d like someone to make all the transport, lodging and sightseeing arrangements for you, there are many different tours available, from whirlwind one-day excursions from Istanbul to 6-day self-drive Istanbul-to-Ephesus trips.
HISTORY OF ÇANAKKALE
History of Çanakkale dates back to a period, as early as 5,000 years. It's believed that the earliest inhabitants settled in the Kumkale area and the Troy was set up between 3500–3000 B.C. The mythological war of Troy, which Homer immortalized in his Iliad, also believed that happened by then. The Aeolians settled in the region in the 8th century B.C. and they were followed by the Lydians in the 7th century B.C. and the Persians in the 6th century B.C. When Alexander the Great defeated the Persians, the Macedoians got in charge of the region but later in the 2nd century B.C., Pergamon Kingdom conquered Aeolis. In the 2nd century A.D., Goths from Thrace attacked Troy because it was an important port. The Byzantine name for Çanakkale was "Dardanellia" which turned into "Dardanelles" in English. In the 14th century, the Ottomans started to control Gallipoli. During the First World War, the battle of Canakkale (Gallipoli War, 1915) took place when the Turkish soldiers tried to drive out the Allied Forces from the region. Turkish forces under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, battled successfully and that's how Canakkale earned its name as "Canakkale: un-passable". Unfortunately 500,000 soldiers died to achieve this success and in their memory, this peninsula has been made a national park of remembrance.
