Commemorative dive on Gallipoli shipwrecks boosts underwater tourism

In Çanakkale, the wrecks of ships that fought in the naval battle on March 18, 1915—where the Allied fleet of British and French vessels was stopped—have become a popular diving tourism site since 2021, thanks to efforts by the Gallipoli Historical Underwater Park and Çanakkale Battlefields Directorate. These warship wrecks, lying silently underwater for over a century, attract visitors eager to explore history beneath the waves. Underwater documentary producer Tahsin Ceylan, together with the Western Marmara Coast Guard team and diving instructor Ercan Zeybek, performed a commemorative dive on August 30 Victory Day at several wrecks, including the British minesweeper HMS Burka and warships HMS Majestic, HMS Louis, and HMT Lundy, along with the Helles barge wreck used for transporting troops and supplies. During the dive, the Coast Guard team displayed a Turkish flag and a Victory Day banner. Ceylan emphasized the significance of the Gallipoli Campaign for the Turkish nation, recalling Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's words in 1918, 'They will leave as they came.' He described the campaign as 'the greatest epic written on water' and noted that the warships now serve diving tourism. The dive on five wrecks in the area was supported by the Western Marmara Coast Guard, with safety ensured by marked zones and drone footage captured by Coast Guard personnel.

Commemorative dive on Gallipoli shipwrecks boosts underwater tourism

Divers conducted a commemorative dive on sunken WWI ships off Çanakkale, turning the historic Gallipoli wrecks into a key underwater tourism site.