President Khoja and world leaders gathered in the western Turkish province of Canakkale Friday to commemorate the centenary of the Canakkale Battle, which saw the victory of the armies of the Ottoman Empire over the Allies in the First World War.
At least 21 heads of state attended the 100th anniversary of the battle, most notably Prince Charles, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, Iraqi President Fuad Masum, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and President Khoja. Parliamentary speakers, deputy presidents, prime ministers, ministers and ambassadors from several countries also represented their countries during the anniversary.
The flag of the Syrian revolution was raised among dozens of flags of the participating countries, in an event that was covered by over 1,100, journalists of international media as well as local journalists.
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign, or the Battle of Çanakkale was a campaign of World War I that took place on the Gallipoli peninsula (Gelibolu in modern Turkey) in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916. The Allied Powers, namely Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand launched a naval attack followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula, with the aim of capturing the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern Istanbul). The naval attack was repelled and after eight months’ fighting, with many casualties on both sides, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn to Egypt. Thousands of Arab and Syrian soldiers died fighting on the side of the Ottoman Empire. The campaign was one of the greatest Ottoman victories during the war. In Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the nation’s history. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Anadolu Agency)
