Izmir Canakkale highway it is well signposted about 15 km out of town.
There are two notable gun placements here that were set up in 1936 to defend the Dardenelles. The battery placements were never used although they were manned for some time. The size and scale and indeed the condition of these battlements is amazing.

Just a year or so ago you could have walked inside the gun turrets and down a ladder to the rooms below which would have been barracks and ammunition stores. Separate steel entrance doors both in the gun turrets and external exits would have allowed entry from the outside but these have been chained up now.

The history behind these german made guns can be found in the historic records of the SMS Weissenburg, a huge battleship of the Imperial German Navy which was built in 1894. The ship had been sold to the Turkish Navy in 1910 and was re-named the Turgut Reis after the famous 16th century Turkish Admiral. It is this ship from which the guns were taken and placed on land at their current siting. The Turgut Reis battleship was scrapped in the 1950’s.

Everything is in very good condition considering the age. The guns were made by the German ammunition manufacturer Krupp in 1892.