The Respect to Mehmetçik Memorial ( tr, Mehmetçiğe Saygı Anıtı) is a monument in the

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

peninsula,

Çanakkale Province Çanakkale Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey, located in the northwestern part of the country. It takes its name from the city of Çanakkale. Like Istanbul, Çanakkale province has a European (Thrace) and an Asian (Anatolia) part. The Eu ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. It is located in the

Eceabat Eceabat, formerly Maydos (Madytos, el, Μάδυτος), is a small town and district of Çanakkale province in the Marmara region of Turkey, located on the eastern shore of the Gelibolu Peninsula, on the Dardanelles Strait. According to the 2010 ...

district of

in the southern end of Albayrak heights within the

Gallipoli Peninsula Historical Site The Gallipoli Peninsula Historical Site covers over 33,000 hectares in Gallipoli, Turkey. The park was established in 1973 by the Turkish government and is included in the United Nations list of National park, National Parks and Protected area, ...

which is facing the Anzac Cove. ''

Mehmetçik ''Mehmetçik'' (, "little" here denoting diminutive endearment rather than actual age) is a term generally used to affectionately refer to soldiers of the Turkish Army. It is similar to the colloquialisms ''Tommy Atkins'', ''Doughboy'', and '' D ...

'' is a common name given to soldiers in a war, akin to

G.I. G.I. are initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Force and general items of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or " ...

in the US.

History

The monument, which was created by the Turkish sculptor Tankut Öktem (1941–2007) in 1997, is a sculpture of a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

soldier carrying an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n officer. The sculpture is based on an event in the Dardanelles Campaign of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in which a Turkish soldier, after raising a white flag, carried a wounded Australian officer to Australian lines and returned to his lines before fighting resumed. There is also an inscription of a statement made by Lord Richard Casey then a lieutenant and the staff captain with the 3rd Brigade in the Australian army, during a visit to Turkey about his respect for the

Turkish army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

.Ruins and memorials in Turkey page
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Respect to Mehmetcik Monument Gallipoli campaign World War I memorials in Turkey Eceabat District Turkish military memorials and cemeteries Buildings and structures in Çanakkale Province 1997 establishments in Turkey Tourist attractions in Çanakkale Province Bronze sculptures in Turkey Sculptures of men in Turkey