Erdogan: Postponing the opening of the Çanakkale Bridge to March 18

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the postponement of the opening of the “Çanakkale 1915” bridge to next March 18, to coincide with the anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Çanakkale.

In a tweet, President Erdoğan noted that the bridge construction was completed a year and a half ahead of schedule.

He stated that his government had intended to open the bridge on February 26 so that it would be available to serve the people as soon as possible, but decided to postpone the opening to March 18 to coincide with the anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Çanakkale, based on the citizens’ desire.

And on Saturday, the Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Adel KaraIsmailoglu, crossed from the continent of Asia to the European continent, on his feet, via the “Çanakkale 1915” bridge.

In press statements after walking between the two continents for about 70 minutes, the minister said that the new bridge will shorten the distance between the two sides of the “Çanakkale Strait” (Northwest) to only 6 minutes.

He explained that crossing from the strait using the ferry normally takes 60 minutes, and may take several hours when there is crowding.

According to the minister, the bridge is 318 meters high and symbolizes the date of March 18, 1915 (the day of victory in the Battle of Çanakkale).

On March 18 of each year, Turkey commemorates the anniversary of the victory of the Ottoman Empire in the battles of Çanakkale against the Allies.

Where British, French, New Zealand and Australian forces tried to occupy Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire at the time, and failed.

The battle that took place in the “Galipoli” area in the state of Çanakkale today was a turning point in the interest of the Turks, as they defeated the allied forces during the First World War (1914-1918).