Eceabat, formerly Maydos (

Madytos Madytos ( el, Μάδυτος) is a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volvi, of which it is a municipal unit. Its population was 2,460 in 2011. Th ...

, el, Μάδυτος), is a small town and district of Çanakkale province in the

Marmara region The Marmara Region ( Turkish: ''Marmara Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. Located in northwestern Turkey, it is bordered by Greece and the Aegean Sea to the west, Bulgaria and the Black Sea to the north, the Black Sea Region to t ...

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

, located on the eastern shore of the

Gelibolu Gelibolu, also known as Gallipoli (from el, Καλλίπολις, ''Kallipolis'', "Beautiful City"), is the name of a town and a district in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara Region, located in Eastern Thrace in the European part of Turkey on ...

Peninsula, on the Dardanelles Strait. According to the 2010 census, the local population is 9,154 of whom 5,380 live in the town of Eceabat. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at sea level. It is an almost entirely modern town. Eceabat is the departure point for the annual swim across the Hellespont to Çanakkale on the other side of the Dardanelles Strait. Eceabat is the nearest town to the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Gallipoli Campaign battlefield sites, as well as to the cemeteries and memorials to the more than 120,000 Turkish, British, French, Australia ad New Zealand soldiers killed during the campaign. This has led to its becoming a major tourism centre, especially around 18 March and 15 April ( ANZAC Day) when the two different sides of the struggle commemorate their roles in what happened.

Name

Eceabat's name might have originated from the Arabic military term "hijabat" which means the most forward command point from the battlefield. If so, the meaning might explain the change from the original Madytos.

Attractions

Kilisetepe Mound in Eceabat town covers the site of the original Maydos. The Greek Orthodox church that used to stand on it was demolished in 1923. Kilitbahir Castle, 11km south of Eceabat, is an architectural masterpiece, commissioned by

Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

in 1462 after the conquest of

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Süleyman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ� ...

added the Sarı Küle, a beautiful tower of large cut stones, to the original fortifications. The castle's heart-shaped layout is unique. The smooth rubble walls were not given great importance but the clover-shaped three courtyards of the inner courtyard were still sheltered. The inner castle has seven floors. Bunkers were added to the site during the Gallipoli campaign. There is a small military museum inside the castle. Ancient Sestos was on the site of the village of Yalova, Eceabat, 4 km from Eceabat. It was established to the south of Akbaş port. Its stones were reused in the building of Kilitbahir Castle. Seddülbahir Castle was built in 1659 by Mustafa Ağa, the architect of Frenk Ahmed Pasha, during the reign of Mehmed IV. Bigali Castle is 5 km from Eceabat. Work on it began in 1807 during the reign of Selim III; it was completed during the reign of

Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

. Stones taken from the lost city of

Sestos Sestos ( el, Σηστός, la, Sestus) was an ancient city in Thrace. It was located at the Thracian Chersonese peninsula on the European coast of the Hellespont, opposite the ancient city of Abydos, and near the town of Eceabat in Turkey. In ...

were used to build the castle.

Notes

References

External links

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District governor's official website

Road map of Eceabat and environs

Various images of Eceabat, Çanakkale

Eceabat
Populated places in Çanakkale Province Dardanelles Fishing communities in Turkey Populated coastal places in Turkey Districts of Çanakkale Province Towns in Turkey Gallipoli Peninsula {{Çanakkale-geo-stub