Çanakkale, like Istanbul, straddles both Europe and Asia. A town and seaport located on the southern coast of the Dardanelles, where the Gallipoli Campaign during World War I took place.
Çanakkale has been host to many civilizations, originally a 15th-century Ottoman fortress, it had by the 18th century developed a reputation for its pottery. Because of its location controlling the Dardanelles, (less than 1.6 km wide at that point), Çanakkale has always been strategically important. It was damaged by British bombardment during World War I.
How the relationship began
Our sister city relationship with Çanakkale was established to commemorate World War I and the Gallipoli Campaign.
In 2014, His Excellency Lieutenant General the Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae, then Governor General of New Zealand, expressed support for an initiative to establish an historical sister city relationship during a visit to Turkey. The Turkish Ambassador to New Zealand, Her Excellency Ms Damla Yesim Say and Mayor Wade-Brown agreed to create an ‘historical sister city’ relationship.
Our relationship with Çanakkale relationship signifies new friendship between past adversaries.
Highlights
Some highlights of our relationship include:
- a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by the mayors of both cities as part of the capital’s WW100 commemorations 2014-2018
- Council delegation and visit to Çanakkale.