Respect to Mehmetçik Monument
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| 40°12′N 26°17′E / 40.200°N 26.283°E | |
| Location | Eceabat, Çanakkale Province, Turkey |
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| Designer | Tankut Öktem |
| Type | Statue |
| Material | Bronze |
| Opening date | 1997 |
| Dedicated to | Turkish soldier at Gallipoli Campaign |
The Respect to Mehmetçik Memorial (Turkish: Mehmetçiğe Saygı Anıtı) is a monument in the Gallipoli peninsula, Çanakkale Province, Turkey. Mehmetçik is a common name given to soldiers in a war, akin to G.I.
Geography
The monument is located in the Eceabat district of Çanakkale Province in the southern end of Albayrak heights in the Gallipoli Historical National Park which is facing the Anzac Cove[1]
History
The monument was created by the Turkish sculptor Tankut Öktem (1941–2007) in 1997.[2]
Theme
The monument is a sculpture of a Turkish soldier carrying an Australian officer. The sculpture is based on an event in the Dardanelles Campaign of the World War I in which a Turkish soldier, after raising a white flag, carried a wounded Australian officer to Australian lines and returned to his lines before resuming the clash. There is also an inscription of a statement made by Lord Richard Casey then a lieutenant and the staff captain with the 3rd Brigade in the Australian army,[3] during a visit to Turkey about his respect to Turkish army.[4]
References
