Study Trip to Troy and Gallipoli from 27 September - 3 October 2015

Excursion to Troy and Gallipolli from 27 September – 3 October 2015

From 27 September to 3 October 2015, the Research Training Group was in the field in Turkey exploring the topic of “From Troy to Gallipolli: Conceptualising and Commemorating Heroes from Antiquity to the Present.”

The first day of our trip was devoted to visiting Troy under the direction of dig leader, Professor Rüstem Aslan, and ended with a short trip to the Smitheion outside of Gülpınar. The following day of the excursion served as preparation for the trip to Gallipolli and included a visit to the Çanakkale Naval Museum, a site devoted to the history and fortification of the area and its involvement during the First World War. The museum’s exhibits included various souvenirs and weapons from soldiers as well as political posters of the time. The Nusret, a reconstructed mine laying ship (proudly described as a “hero ship”), was also on display and offered information about the materials as well descriptions of the battle at Dardanelles. On 30 September, we visited Gallipolli and its Kabatepe Museum, which is devoted to extensively covering this area’s involvement in the war, and then made our way to the memorials of Australian, New Zealand, British and Turkish troops of World War I. The various ways in which these different cultures honour their war dead could be seen through the varying perspectives, design and chronology of these memorials. The following day, the last day of our excursion, we took part in a workshop and very lively intercultural discussion at the Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University devoted to the conceptualisation and commemoration of heroes and the culture of remembrance. A final visit to the dig site in Assos with Professor Nurettin Arslan led the group very close to the ancient city and wrapped up our time in Turkey.