An ethnographic study on the notion of martyrdom in Turkey reflected on the commemorations of the Gallipoli campaign, WWI

This research suggests to analyze the concept of martyrdom in case of the Gallipoli Campaign and its contemporary commemorations within the unique context of Turkish cultural history constructed and reshaped in the historical, religious, political and cultural processes that the Turkish society has been going through. Having such strong cultural, political and religious connotations in Turkish society, the Gallipoli Campaign and commemorations are vulnerable to interventions and manipulations of various power groups. Growing its roots in the scripts of Qur'an and hadiths, the concept of martyrdom is located at the sacred space of the modern state of Turkey. This study also tries to explore how an element of religious concept prevails in contemporary national discourses and unite millions of people coming from different national, religious, professional and cultural backgrounds and bring them to this open-air cemetery to cry and pray together. The land was discussed as a site of remembrance, the battle as a rite of passage, the visitors as the actors of remembrance, the notion of martyrdom as the unifying cement and the commemorations as ritual of reaffirming contesting identities in the holistic perspective of Cultural Anthropology with its data gathering methods of direct observation and in-depth interviews with 27 participants who were selected among the families whose family members fought at Gallipoli and having visited the peninsula. It is found that the notion of martyrdom is a multi-layered phenomenon and commemorations will continue to be a simulation platform for the power groups to sanctify their authority. Key words: Gallipoli, Dardanelles, commemorations, martyrdom, Turkey, memorial, ethnography, collective memory, WWI.