Çanakkale Martyrs' Memorial is a 137 ft (42 m) tall national veteran's war memorial in Çanakkale, Turkey. Built on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1960, the monument is dedicated to the memory of 253,000 Turkish soldiers who lost their lives defending the territory during World War I. The memorial overlooks Morto Bay, the first point of contact for the British and French invasion of the then Ottoman Empire during the war's Battle of Gallipoli in 1915.
Low reliefs depicting the war are etched into the monument's four stone pillars, which are topped by a concrete slab. Its pillars sit on a pedestal, with the entire structure covering an impressive 673 sq ft (62.5 sq m) of Hisarlik Hill. A painting of the Turkish flag can be seen on the inside "ceiling" of the slab. The monument houses the War Museum and is an important centerpiece of the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park, which includes a symbolic cemetery, garden, additional reliefs, and statues commemorating Turkey's 57th Infantry Regiment. Inscribed with verses from Turkey's national anthem and appearing on the country's currency, the Çanakkale Martyrs' Memorial is a prominent symbol of victory, bravery, and sacrifice for the people of Turkey, celebrating the nation's rich early history while honoring its wartime heroes.
The monument's owners, Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park Directorate, wished to illuminate the memorial in a manner that would accentuate the subtle features of each sculpture, relief, and monument that had previously been hidden by darkness after nightfall. Seeking a high-quality lighting solution that could add visual depth to the memorial's façade, they commissioned Philips' Value-Added Partner and Istanbul-based lighting solutions provider UVA Lighting to renovate the monument's exterior. Philips Color Kinetics fixtures' durability, range of lighting effects and ease in application, provided superior daytime and evening illumination to the monuments of Çanakkale Martyrs Memorial.
Every 3.2 ft (1 m) of the memorial's exterior is lit by ColorReach Powercore LED fixtures. An image of the Turkish flag is projected to the left of the memorial while images of the 57th Regiment's Lieutenant-Colonel, Turkey's first president Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, are shown to the right by Philips Lighting PROflood GOBO projectors.
Decoflood fixtures from Philips Lighting wash the monument's interior with white light, emphasizing the mosaic of the Turkish flag on its ceiling. The improved lighting creates the appearance that the Turkish flag, the country's soldiers and their great leader Atatürk are united once again.
ColorBurst Powercore fixtures provide a rich, color-changing glow on trees along the left and right sides of the pathway leading to the ceremonial ground. The luminaires link the memorial to the park's ceremonial ground, enabling the pathway to act as a guide for pedestrians traveling to the memorial during evening hours. An extended relief portraying heroic legends of the Battle of Çanakkale is illuminated by eW Blast Powercore fixtures, washing the artwork with radiant white light in intervals. Other monuments surrounding the memorial, such as the Wounded Soldier statue sculpted by renowned artist Tankut Öktem, and the Mustafa Kemal Atatürk sculpture created by Metin Yurdanur, the State Artist of Turkey, are lit by eW Reach Compact Powercore fixtures, which distribute white LED light from four directions around the figures.
A wide angle ColorBlast Powercore fixture was placed in a glass dome at the center of the Turkish Garden. The dome delivers a polychromatic stream of light among the Garden's symbolic martyr graves, representing the artistic vision of the deceased soldiers' spirits continuing their guard.
Completed in 2013, the new lighting solution guarantees equally brilliant illumination for the monument during the evening as it would during daylight, removing concerns over travel to unlit areas. As a result, the memorial has seen an increase in evening tourism. The diverse palate of colors offered by the façade's energy-efficient LED lights offer programmers flexibility to create custom light shows for Turkey's national holidays and other special events at the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park.
Above all, the installation heightens the visual appeal of the memorial, revealing the magnificence of an honored symbol of Turkey's perseverance and patriotism, creating meaningful and emotional experiences for its visitors.