Turkey's 'Gallipoli collector' eager to open museum

Turkey's only official Çannakkale collector, Seyit Ahmet S?lay, has dedicated his life to collecting objects from the Battle of Çanakkale. Now, he wants to open a private museum dedicated to artifacts from the war, lamenting how many private museums featuring objects from the battle are fake.

"I want these objects to be open to the public," said S?lay, who found his first artifact, a bullet, on the Anafartalar plain on the Gallipoli Peninsula (Gelibolu) in 1995. "We want to build a museum. Companies want to become a sponsor for the museum. Since I am an official collector, companies are free of tax. But first the state should give us permission and show a place. If not, it can take my collection free of charge. We need a Museum of the Battle of Çanakkale."

The Ottoman Turks finally won the battle against the Allies on March 18, 1915.

S?lay said they wanted to build the museum on an area of 2,500 square meters and open a library on the upper floor of the museum. 

With more than 5,000 objects, S?lay has gained the title of "Turkey's only Çanakkale collector" despite - in his own words - "not being a historian."

Villagers forced to sell artifacts

S?lay said families from the Balkans moved to the villages which were evacuated during the battle. After the formation of the Turkish Republic in 1923, the region of these seven-eight villages was closed to visits until the 1980s, S?lay said. 

During those year, selling war scraps was the only source of income for locals living there. 

"I never ask these people why they sold them, but I ask the state, 'Why did you let these people sell them?' These people had to survive one way or another," S?lay said. 

Stating that he is frequently asked...