Eceabat (Turkey)

Eceabat (Turkish: [eˈdʒeːabat]), formerly Maydos (Greek: Μάδυτος, romanized: Mádytos; now usually Ετζέαμπατ, Etzéampat), is a small town in Çanakkale Province in the Marmara region of Turkey, located on the eastern shore of the Gallipoli Peninsula, facing the Dardanelles Strait. It is the seat of Eceabat District. Its population is 5,636 (2021). The town lies at sea level. It is an almost entirely modern town. Eceabat is the departure point for the annual swim across the Hellespont to Çanakkale on the other side of the Dardanelles Strait. Eceabat is the nearest town to the World War I Gallipoli Campaign battlefield sites, as well as to the cemeteries and memorials to the more than 120,000 Turkish, British, French, Australian and New Zealand soldiers killed during the campaign. This has led to its becoming a major tourism centre, especially around 18 March and 25 April (ANZAC Day) when the two different sides of the struggle commemorate their roles in what happened.