CANAKKALE, Turkey -- As I swim over the wreck of the British destroyer HMS Louis, I spot a small octopus sheltering inside one of its four boilers. Cuttlefish hover nearby, while nudibranchs cling to the vessel, which has rested on the sandy seabed off Turkey's Gallipoli Peninsula for more than a century.

Around me, journalists examine newly installed equipment designed to slow the ship's corrosion. We are diving at the first of 17 World War I wrecks selected for Deep Heritage, a Turkish conservation project backed by a consortium of South Korean and Turkish contractors.

More than 100 wartime wrecks remain in the waters off Canakkale in northwestern Turkey. The project aims to preserve some of the most intact, significant and vulnerable among them, protecting the region's historical heritage and marine habitats while strengthening its appeal as a diving destination.

The wrecks will be treated using cathodic protection, in which zinc "sacrificial anodes" installed near a wreck are connected to it by copper cables beneath the seabed, redirecting the electrical activity that causes corrosion. Officials say the system, said to be the largest application of cathodic protection to a group of shipwrecks, could protect each vessel for up to 50 years.

The province of Canakkale lies on both sides of the Dardanelles, a narrow strait that connects the Aegean to the Sea of Marmara, and then to the Black Sea via the Bosporus, a second strait that passes through Istanbul. Control of this strategic waterway has been contested since antiquity, most memorably in the Trojan War immortalized in Homer's poems "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey." Cathodic protection equipment installed on the seabed near the wreck of HMS Louis is designed to slow corrosion. The British destroyer is the first of 17 wrecks to be treated under the Deep Heritage project. (Video still by Murathan Yildiz) In the Gallipoli campaign of 1915, Britain and France sought to gain control of the Dardanelles to open a route through the Black Sea to the Russian Empire, their ally, and knock Turkey, a German ally then known as the Ottoman Empire, out of the war. Ottoman forces, backed by Germany, stopped the Allies in fierce naval and land battles.

Most of the fighting on land took place on the Gallipoli Peninsula, on the north side of the Dardanelles. Up to 500,000 people are thought to have been killed or wounded before the invaders withdrew in early 1916. Most of the Allied casualties were British and French, but troops from across the British Empire fought in the campaign, including many from the Indian subcontinent. Soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, known as Anzacs, suffered over 36,000 dead and wounded, according to the New Zealand government, and the campaign helped to forge national identities in both countries, which were then self-governing dominions of the British Empire. Both still commemorate dawn landings on April 25, 1915, as Anzac Day, with an annual dawn service at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli. Dignitaries, descendants of soldiers and other visitors travel to the region for the event.

Top: A diver explores the wreck of HMS Louis, which ran aground in Suvla Bay after colliding with a tugboat in October 1915. (Tahsin Ceylan/Anadolu Agency) Bottom: Australians, New Zealanders and other visitors gather each year for the Anzac Day dawn service at Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The April 25 observance commemorates the landing there of troops from both countries in 1915. (Anadolu Agency) Gallipoli also occupies a central place in Turkish national memory. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, rose to prominence as a commander defending the peninsula, and the phrase "Canakkale is impassable" remains a source of national pride. Turkish school groups and other domestic visitors regularly tour the Gallipoli battlefields. The historic area, which is managed by Turkey's Directorate of Gallipoli Historic Site, part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, has been on UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List since 2014.

In 2021, the directorate established the Gallipoli Historic Underwater Park, described as the world's first underwater park devoted to WWI. It has opened 19 wrecks -- all but two from the Gallipoli naval campaign -- to divers. The sites range from 5 meters to more than 80 meters deep and can be reached within 10 to 90 minutes from the pier, offering options for divers with different levels of experience.

Deep Heritage is supported by a consortium comprising the South Korean construction companies DL E&C and SK ecoplant and the Turkish contractors Limak and Yapi Merkezi. The consortium built and operates the 1915 Canakkale Bridge, opened in 2022, which links Asia and Europe across the Dardanelles and is the world's longest mid-span suspension bridge. Cathodic protection is also used on the bridge's supports.

Top: Two divers explore the wreck of the Lundy, a British trawler built in 1908 and later used as a minesweeper. The vessel lies 27 meters below the surface and is the Deep Heritage project’s next preservation target. (Photo by Maxime Cheminade, courtesy of the Directorate of Gallipoli Historic Site) Bottom: Dive sites in the Gallipoli Historic Underwater Park. (Courtesy of the Directorate of Gallipoli Historic Site) Technical analysis for the marine conservation effort began in 2017 with the involvement of Turkish universities and institutions. The first installation was unveiled at the end of June to a group of Turkish and foreign journalists, including Nikkei Asia.

The journalists first made a check dive at the SS Milo, which lies in 5 to 7 meters of water in Anzac Cove. The 74-meter passenger ship was converted into a British Admiralty transport vessel carrying supplies and ammunition and was also used to illuminate the shore.

The next day's dive took us to HMS Louis in Suvla Bay, a 25-minute boat ride from Kabatepe pier, on the north shore of Gallipoli. The 82-meter destroyer, built in 1912, was damaged in a collision with a tugboat and ran aground. It now lies at a depth of 13 meters, with a 45-meter section remaining exposed above the sand; the rest is buried.

The ship's boilers remain in good condition and have become habitats for marine life. Although no one died when the vessel collided and ran aground, swimming over it made me think of the horrors endured by soldiers on both sides of the campaign, many of whom faced death far from home. The project's next target is the Lundy, a British trawler built in 1908 and later used as a minesweeper, according to Yusuf Kartal, head of planning and projects for the historic site. The vessel sank after colliding with another ship and now lies 27 meters below the surface.

The project's next target is the Lundy, a British trawler built in 1908 and later used as a minesweeper, according to Yusuf Kartal, head of planning and projects for the historic site. The vessel sank after colliding with another ship and now lies 27 meters below the surface.

Top: HMS Louis lies partially submerged in Suvla Bay after the 1915 accident, in which no one was killed. (From the collection of Serpil and Bill Sellars) Bottom: The wreck of the SS Milo is visible in shallow water off Anzac Cove. The former passenger ship was converted into a British transport vessel during WWI. (Anadolu Agency) The third will be the SS Carthage, a 123-meter passenger-cargo vessel under French naval command that was sunk by a torpedo from the German submarine U-21 in 1915. The wreck, at a depth of 60 meters to 85 meters, is accessible only to more advanced "technical" divers licensed to descend below 40 meters.

Because the Carthage was built as a civilian vessel, its materials are more susceptible to corrosion, making its preservation more urgent, Kartal says. The cost of applying cathodic protection depends on a wreck's depth and other factors but is expected to range from $150,000 to $400,000 per vessel.

The directorate hopes to protect two wrecks a year and complete work on all 17 within eight years. Turkey's waters cannot match the biodiversity and colorful reefs of the Red Sea or the Asia-Pacific region, Kartal says. But Gallipoli's concentration of century-old destroyers, submarines, minesweepers and barges offers divers a close encounter with history.

Turkey's waters cannot match the biodiversity and colorful reefs of the Red Sea or the Asia-Pacific region, Kartal says. But Gallipoli's concentration of century-old destroyers, submarines, minesweepers and barges offers divers a close encounter with history.

Top: Yusuf Kartal, head of planning and projects for the Gallipoli historic site, briefs reporters in June on efforts to preserve WWI wrecks in the surrounding waters. Bottom: A diver explores the wreck of the SS Carthage, a 123-meter passenger-cargo vessel sunk by a torpedo from the German submarine U-21 in 1915. (Photo by Alex Dawson, courtesy of the Directorate of Gallipoli Historic Site) Australian writer and researcher Bill Sellars, who has lived on the Gallipoli Peninsula for 25 years, says the area's climate, water conditions and accessibility make it better suited to WWI wreck diving than other major sites such as Scapa Flow in Scotland and Jutland, where a major battle took place in the North Sea off the west coast of Denmark.

Top: Yusuf Kartal, head of planning and projects for the Gallipoli historic site, briefs reporters in June on efforts to preserve WWI wrecks in the surrounding waters. Bottom: A diver explores the wreck of the SS Carthage, a 123-meter passenger-cargo vessel sunk by a torpedo from the German submarine U-21 in 1915. (Photo by Alex Dawson, courtesy of the Directorate of Gallipoli Historic Site) Australian writer and researcher Bill Sellars, who has lived on the Gallipoli Peninsula for 25 years, says the area's climate, water conditions and accessibility make it better suited to WWI wreck diving than other major sites such as Scapa Flow in Scotland and Jutland, where a major battle took place in the North Sea off the west coast of Denmark. "However, World War II dive sites in the Pacific, such as at Truk Lagoon (in Micronesia) offer a wider range of dive options, are also a year-round venue, and there is a far greater dive infrastructure in place, tour companies, specialist dive boats and the like," he says.

About 4,700 people dived in the Gallipoli underwater park last year, Kartal says, including 700 foreign visitors, about 600 of whom were technical divers. Polish, German and British divers made up the three largest groups, while Australians and New Zealanders also visited.

The directorate aims to attract 15,000 divers annually within 10 years, including 10,000 from overseas, primarily technical divers. Kartal says such visitors spend six times more than the average foreign tourist in Turkey because of the cost of their equipment. Authorities are particularly interested in Europe's estimated 7 million active divers, who include up to 200,000 technical divers.

The directorate aims to attract 15,000 divers annually within 10 years, including 10,000 from overseas, primarily technical divers. Kartal says such visitors spend six times more than the average foreign tourist in Turkey because of the cost of their equipment. Authorities are particularly interested in Europe's estimated 7 million active divers, who include up to 200,000 technical divers.

Divers examine unexploded artillery shells on the wreck of HMS Majestic, a popular dive site off Gallipoli. The vessel is too badly deteriorated for cathodic protection. (Tahsin Ceylan/Anadolu Agency) The park also plans to open more sites for less experienced visitors. By the end of the year, authorities intend to sink several scrapped vessels confiscated from smugglers in shallow water near tourist areas, Kartal says. "Diving and swimming over the wrecks of ships from the Gallipoli campaign opens up a whole new perspective on the history of the campaign, providing a strong connection with the past," Sellars says.

"Diving and swimming over the wrecks of ships from the Gallipoli campaign opens up a whole new perspective on the history of the campaign, providing a strong connection with the past," Sellars says.

The vessels are reminders that Gallipoli began as a naval operation and that both sides continued to depend on ships after the fighting shifted ashore, he says. "Without that maritime logistics support, at times challenged by submarines from both sides, the Gallipoli campaign could not have been fought." For now, I snorkel with my 8-year-old son during Canakkale's hot summer days and take him to the ruins of Troy, and to museums and Gallipoli's war sites. It is my way of introducing him to the history that shaped modern Turkey from the remains of the Ottoman Empire.

The vessels are reminders that Gallipoli began as a naval operation and that both sides continued to depend on ships after the fighting shifted ashore, he says. "Without that maritime logistics support, at times challenged by submarines from both sides, the Gallipoli campaign could not have been fought." For now, I snorkel with my 8-year-old son during Canakkale's hot summer days and take him to the ruins of Troy, and to museums and Gallipoli's war sites. It is my way of introducing him to the history that shaped modern Turkey from the remains of the Ottoman Empire.

One day, I hope we can scuba dive together among the iron and steel wrecks on the sandy seabed -- a time tunnel spanning a century beneath the water -- and help him better understand why Turks still say, "Canakkale is impassable."