Digital exhibition marks anniversary of Çanakkale Victory
Martyr's Memorial is seen behind Turkish flags, Çanakkale, northwestern Turkey, March 18, 2021. (İHA Photo)


On the 106th anniversary of the March 18 Çanakkale Victory and Martyrs' Day, the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications has organized a digital exhibition to commemorate the Gallipoli Campaign and fallen soldiers. The "March 18 Çanakkale Victory Digital Screening," opened today at Marmaray Yenikapı Station in Istanbul and will be on display until March 31.

The poignant day of March 18 marks the monthslong violence of the campaign when Ottoman forces suffered huge losses while defending Turkish shores in northwestern Çanakkale province from the invading Allies in World War I. Despite the devastating nature of the campaign, it passed into history as the last victory of the empire and the first step of the birth of the Republic of Turkey.

A "March 18 Çanakkale Victory Digital Screening" exhibition poster.
In the exhibition, the March 18 victory is brought to life with three-dimensional hologram films enriched with various photographs and archive images. The photographs were taken at the frontline during the campaign and the stories behind these photos and heroes are presented with video mapping techniques. The show was prepared within the scope of the "360 Culture and Art" project of the Directorate of Communications.

The directorate previously opened the "Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Digital Exhibition," the "Nakkaş Osman Surname-i Hümayun Digital Miniature Exhibition" and the "Osman Hamdi Bey Digital Exhibition" as part of this project. While the "Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Digital Exhibition" commemorated Kazasker (chief judge) Mustafa Izzet Efendi – one of the greatest calligraphers of the Ottoman Empire – the "Nakkaş Osman Surname-i Hümayun Digital Miniature Exhibition" featured the works of the renowned Nakkaş Osman, who was the chief miniaturist in the late 16th century in the Ottoman Empire. And the "Osman Hamdi Bey Digital Exhibition" honored the prominent 19th-century Ottoman painter and art connoisseur, Osman Hamdi Bey.