For the erection of a memorial in Gallipoli, an architectural contest was opened in 1944. The design by architects Doğan Erginbaş, Ismail Utkular and civil engineer Ertuğrul Barla won the official contest. Construction of the monument was decided in 1952, and the ground stone was laid on 19 April 1954. Financial problems caused interruption of the construction works several times. The main structure was completed on 15 March 1958. In the meantime, the Turkish daily Milliyet started a countrywide financial support campaign, and the memorial was officially opened on 21 August 1960. The high monument is in the form of four square columns wide with space between each other, topped by a concrete slab of. The huge structure is well visible during passage through the Dardanelles. The museum underneath the monument was opened later and the bas-reliefs on the columns were completed afterwards. Situated to the north of the memorial, a war cemetery holding the remains of 600 Turkish soldiers was established in 1992. Posted at the site, an inscription with verses from Turkish national anthem by Mehmet Akif Ersoy, reminds the visitors:
Do not ignore the ground on which you have walked, It is not ordinary soil. Reflect on the thousands of people, who lie beneath Without a shroud. You are the son of a martyr – Do not hurt your ancestor, Do not give away this beautiful motherland, Even if you have the whole world.
Inside the museum, beneath the memorial, further information and historical artifacts illustrate the magnitude of the Battle of Gallipoli, against the Allied powers: British, French, and Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Original personal and military items, such as cutlery, a set of false teeth, dress buttons, belt buckles, sniper shields, and photographs found on the battlefield, are on display in the museum.
A monument commemorating the soldiers and officers of the famous 57th Regiment of the 19th Division, who all were killed in action, was opened in 1992. It is a three-story tower with a relief inscription of Staff Lieutenant-Colonel Mustafa Kemal's famous command to his soldiers who ran out of ammunition and had nothing left but bayonets, on the morning of25 April 1915 to meet the ANZACs on the slopes leading up from the beach to the heights of Chunuk Bair :
I do not order you to attack, I order you to die.
As a sign of respect, there is no 57th Regiment in the modern Turkish army. In the area are other cemeteries holding the ANZAC dead, and monuments to them.
