The first waterway on the way of Istanbul, the place where a century was collapsed, the place where 500,000 soldiers have lost their lives at Gallipoli, homeland of many civilizations including the ancient city known as Troy, the city of Heroes:
| Canakkale,
one of the Turkish cities, is located on the Hellespoint on the north-west
part of Turkey. The city has always been strategically important because
it has been a crossing point for armies, traders, migrating people since
before history.
BRIEF SUMMARY The Dardanelles Strait is one of the most important geological feature of Canakkale. This is the almost 60 km (38 miles) long ribbon of water separating the continent of Europe from the Asia Minor. Throughout history, anyone who controlled this gateway commanded a highly |
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The first known story of the Dardanelles is the story of Helle. In the ancient times, the Dardanelles were known as the Hellespont, "Helle's sea" , named after a mythical Boetian princess who was drown in its water. According to the Greek mythology, when King Athamas' children, Phryxus and Helle, were sent away by their stepmother. While passing over the straits on a ram with golden fleece, Princess Helle fell into the water.
Another lovely story was told ear to ear; Abydos and Sestus were two town of ancient Canakkale that faced one another across the Straits. Leander was a handsome youth from Abydos who was in love with an Aphrodite priestess, Hero. Every night he would swim from Abydos to Sestus to see her. One night there was a terrible storm and he had never arrived. Hero, assuming that Leander had drowned, threw herself into the sea.