Moana Kuewa

		2008.11.07 TURKEY Canakkale from Kolin Hotel Location: TURKEY: Canakkale Çanakkale occupies the narrowest point of the straits (called the Dardanelles) that leads from the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. The straits are 1,120 meters (3,937 feet) wide. In 450 BC, the Persian King Xerxes built a bridge of boats here to land his troops in Thrace. Also, the final battles of the Peloponnesian War took place in these waters around 400 BC. During his campaign to take Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1453, Mehmet II (the Conqueror) built two fortresses to secure the straits. Remains of the fortresses stand in-place today. Çanakkale means “pottery castle” and the town was once a center for the production of high-quality kaolin for a flourishing ceramics industry. Today, this type of clay in imported, but the vitreous enamel ware made in Çanakkale remains one of Turkey’s top export earners. Çanakkale was also a strategic place for the defeat of the invading Greek forces after World War 1 when Ataturk united the Turkish people to expel the ruthless Greek invading forces. This was a decisive battle site. Unfortunately, time did not allow Vedat, Jeff, and Chris to visit the Archaeological Museum or the war memorial. Traveling Individuals Names: Vedat Kardes, Jeff Cheske, and Christine Bauman * Some of the descriptions are taken from the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide - Turkey