Canakkale

Marmara, Turkey 19 tours visit here

Canakkale is a port city in northwestern Turkey, in the Marmara region, on the Asian shore of the Dardanelles at the strait's narrowest point. The strait links the Aegean to the Sea of Marmara, and that position shapes much of the area's history: the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War was fought on the peninsula directly opposite, while the ruins of Troy lie a short drive south along the same Asian coast. The city itself is a university town rather than a monument site. Life centres on the waterfront promenade, where cafes, an Ottoman fortress with a naval museum and the wooden horse built for the 2004 film Troy face the water. Ferries cross regularly to Eceabat and Kilitbahir on the European side, and a long suspension bridge now spans the strait further north. Most travellers use the city as a base. The Gallipoli battlefields, a landscape of cemeteries, memorials and preserved trench lines, are usually seen on a half- or full-day trip that includes the ferry crossing; Troy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a modern museum beside it, takes about half a day. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons; commemorations in March and April draw large crowds.