Consuming history in a political context: Motivations of Turkish visitors of the Gallipoli Battlefields

Abstract

Certain unconventional tourism activities such as visiting battlefields, old prisons, or crash sites encompass dark tourism and have become the focus of scholarly pursuit. The term was established in relation to the Gallipoli Battlefields; which has been examined mostly in the context of its importance to Australian and New Zealander national identities. As represented by numerous memorials and well-established historical narration, the Battle in Gallipoli is credited as one of the most important representations of Turkish nationality. This research aims to investigate the motivations of Turkish visitors to Gallipoli in terms of consumption experiences and to clarify empirically motivations of Turkish visitors to Gallipoli. An explorative questionnaire was directed to respondents via e-mail, and analyses were conducted with 236 valid forms. Data supports that rather than personal motivation, visiting Gallipoli reflects politically constructed meanings for Turkish visitors. Gallipoli narration is therefore eligibly expounded as national rhetoric and motivations for visiting the site are compatible with group consumption behavior.