“The Spirit of Çanakkale” comes to Cologne
On 19 June 2026, the Gallipoli Association’s Overseas Liaison Officer, Thomas Iredale, visited the Çanakkale Wars Mobile Museum (Çanakkale Savaşları Mobil Müzesi) during its stop at the Turkish Consulate in Cologne—its final German location before continuing on to Brussels.
The Consulate, located in the suburb of Hürth, about 12 km from Cologne Main Station, operates with strict security procedures. Upon arrival, I had to surrender my mobile phone and iPad, as electronic devices and cameras are not permitted inside. As a result, this report relies on photographs published by various Turkish Consulates on their official social media channels.
The improvised “home made” catapult used to lob grenades across no man’s land, one of the most striking items in the collection. (Source Haber) | Here you can see the sheer size of the Mobile Museum at its stop in Brussels. Museum staff with lanyards, others not named. (Source Haber) |
The Mobile Museum itself is housed in a fully air conditioned exhibition truck—an absolute necessity on a day when temperatures reached 34°C. Inside, glass display cases line both sides of the vehicle, presenting a carefully curated selection of artefacts and multimedia installations. One side features Turkish and Allied uniforms, alongside weapons and military equipment used during the Gallipoli Campaign. Particularly striking is the improvised grenade throwing catapult, a vivid reminder of the ingenuity required in trench warfare. Personal items, documents, and photographs add a human dimension, giving visitors a sense of the lived experience of the campaign.
Group picture with the Turkish Consul General at the stop in Duisburg. (Source TC Consulate FB page) | Same group picture with the Turkish Consul General inside the Mobile Museum. (Source TC Consulate FB page) |
The museum staff were exceptionally welcoming and were pleasantly surprised that a non-Turkish visitor was very familiar with the subject. They obligingly switched the subtitles of the digital presentations to English for his visit. The opposite side of the exhibition provides a clear narrative of the campaign—how it began, how it unfolded, and how the Allied evacuation ultimately led to a decisive Ottoman victory.
Mixed age visitors exploring the displays and learning about the “Spirit of Çanakkale”. (Source Haber) | Another picture of visitors exploring one of the displays of the Museum. (Source Haber) |
The Mobile Museum, conceived four years ago by the Gallipoli Historical Site Directorate, has already visited all provinces in Turkey and is currently on its 2026 European tour, visiting six Turkish Consulates across Germany from south to north, as well as Belgium and Bulgaria. Under the motto “Spirit of Çanakkale”, the project brings the story of the 1915 campaign to Turkish communities abroad. A central aim is to strengthen historical awareness among younger generations of the Turkish diaspora, many of whom have limited direct exposure to this foundational chapter of their national history.
I was genuinely impressed by what I saw. The Mobile Museum is an innovative—and clearly not inexpensive—way of bringing Gallipoli to Turkish citizens living overseas. With its transnational reach, it serves as a cultural ambassador for Türkiye, sharing a defining national narrative across borders and generations.
You may download a copy of the Mobile Museum brochure in English here.