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To mark the 104th anniversary of the Great Victory on Aug. 30, divers descended into the waters off Gallipoli to document the World War I shipwrecks that still rest on the seabed, offering a rare underwater tribute to the Battle of Gallipoli.
The dive was carried out by the Turkish Coast Guard Western Marmara Group Command dive team together with underwater documentary producer and cinematographer Tahsin Ceylan and technical diving instructor Riza Birkan and his team, who explored the wrecks at Gallipoli Historic Underwater Park.
Located off the coast of Canakkale in Türkiye, Gallipoli Historic Underwater Park has been open to diving tourism since 2021, following initiatives by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Canakkale Wars and Gallipoli Historic Site Directorate, and has since become a favorite destination for those interested in exploring underwater history.
The park is considered one of the richest sites in the world in terms of shipwreck inventory, holding the remains of numerous vessels that sank during the Gallipoli campaign of World War I.
Among the wrecks documented during the dive were the HMS Triumph, HMS Majestic, HMS Louis, Lundy, and several other vessels that have remained submerged for over a century.
As part of the commemorative dive, the team unfurled a Turkish flag while underwater, marking the anniversary of Türkiye's Aug. 30 Victory Day.
The divers posed for photographs next to the flag as part of the ceremony, which was held entirely beneath the surface near the historic wrecks.
The dive team stated that their mission was to capture footage of the wrecks as part of the official events marking the 104th anniversary of the Aug. 30 Victory Day commemorations.
The underwater park's growing popularity has drawn increasing attention from both professional divers and tourists eager to witness firsthand the remnants of one of history's most significant naval and land battles.
The commemorative dive served as a reminder of the deep historical ties between Türkiye's modern identity and the events that unfolded during the Gallipoli campaign more than a century ago.
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