Gallipoli

Gallipoli [gə lip′ə lē]

var. of GELIBOLU

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Gal·lip·o·li (gə-lĭpʹə-lē)

A narrow peninsula of northwest Turkey extending between the Dardanelles and the Gulf of Saros. It was the scene of heavy fighting (1915) between Allied and Turkish forces in World War I. The city of Gallipoli, at the eastern end of the peninsula, has a population of 16,715.

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a peninsula (= an area of land almost surrounded by water) in Turkey, which the armed forces of the Allies tried to capture during World War I. The Allies, including many soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, landed at Gallipoli and fought bravely, but they had little support and failed to capture the peninsula. More than 200 000 Allied soldiers died there.

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Turkish Gelibolu ancient Callipolis

Seaport and town (pop., 2000 est.: 23,100), European Turkey.

It lies on a narrow peninsula at the entrance to the Sea of Marmara, southwest of Istanbul. First colonized by the Greeks, it was the site of an important Byzantine fortress. It became the first Ottoman conquest in Europe (с 1356) and was used as a naval base because of its strategic importance for the defense of Constantinople (Istanbul). Much of the town was destroyed in World War I (1914–18) during the Dardanelles Campaign. Historic sites include a 14th-century Ottoman castle and the tombs of Thracian kings.

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▪ Turkey

Turkish  Gelibolu , historically  Callipolis 

      seaport and town, European Turkey. It lies on a narrow peninsula where the Dardanelles opens into the Sea of Marmara, 126 miles (203 km) west-southwest of Istanbul. An important Byzantine fortress, it was the first Ottoman (Ottoman Empire) conquest (c. 1356) in Europe and was maintained as a naval base because of its strategic importance for the defense of Istanbul. It was also a key transit station on the trade routes from Rumelia (Ottoman possessions in the Balkans) to Anatolia. In World War I, Gallipoli was the scene of determined Turkish resistance to the Allied forces during the Dardanelles Campaign, in which most of the town was destroyed. A storehouse of the Byzantine emperor Justinian (6th century), a 14th-century square castle attributed to the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I, and mounds known as the tombs of Thracian kings still stand.

      The new town, developed as a fishing and sardine-canning centre, is connected by road and steamer service with Istanbul and is also linked by road with Edirne. Pop. (2000) 23,127.

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