2025 Volendam, Cruising the Dardanelles....

Even though it was a sea day, I was up early to be out front for scenic cruising through the Dardanelles…it was pretty chilly out there. The Dardanelles is a narrow, strategically important strait in northwestern Turkey that connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara and separates the European and Asian continents. This area has been a vital waterway for trade and military campaigns, most notably the Gallipoli Campaign during World War I.  We sailed northward through the Dardanelles beneath the 1915 Canakkale Bridge. The bridge itself, a gleaming modern landmark linking Europe and Asia, stands as a bold opposite to the centuries old landscape around it. Across the narrow strait stretches is the Gallipoli Peninsula. The passage continues toward the Aegean, the strait narrows and is guarded by powerful stone fortresses. On the European side stands the great Kilitbahir Fortress, its heart-shaped bastion built by Mehmed the Conqueror to command the strait, mirrored by its twin, the Cimenlik Fortress, on the Asian shore. Farther toward the mouth, two weathered forts come into view that once roared with Ottoman artillery during the First World War. The waters widen and the Aegean opens ahead; the forts and monuments fade into the distance is a reminder that this narrow strait has been both a boundary and a bridge between worlds.