Jean Henri Abdoylonyme Ubicini (1818-1884) was born in the Touraine region of France, studied in Versailles, and taught at a college for several years. He first traveled to Italy, Greece, and Turkey in 1846. During his time in Bucharest, the effects of the 1848 revolution reached Wallachia, and when the Voyvoda region was abandoned and a provisional government was established, Ubicini took a position there. However, after the Russians entered Bucharest, Ubicini first moved to Istanbul and then returned to Paris. During a period when Russia and Europe were divided due to the Crimean War, Ubicini's publications on Turkey and the Eastern Question garnered significant attention. In his 1855 work describing the central and provincial organization, administration, economic situation, legal and education systems, army, and naval power of the Ottoman Empire, Ubicini shares his impressions of the Dardanelles, Bursa, and Istanbul. The Western perspective in his narratives, along with the objective approach in his comments, is noteworthy:
"Seven or eight years ago, when I first crossed the Dardanelles, the relentless conflicts now reigning at this farthest point of Europe were still a possibility. Had I, not being a stranger to political matters, entertained this possibility for a moment, it would have, no matter how exciting, torn me away from the admiration I have been in for three days. Indeed, for three days we have been traveling within mythology, history, and ancient tales. Enchanted names were ringing in my ears...
It is certain that this sky, this sea, these lands are privileged. They appeal to the senses and imagination, leaving no room in memory. Sometimes, after rounding a historically famous cape, our ship would reach a nameless and deserted islet forgotten by cartographers, lined with countless bays fringing its shores like lace. In the middle, a mountain range covered with trees stretches from end to end, with streams flowing through its rocks to the beach, and how many times when the evening breeze brought us the scents of lemon and mastic trees, I sincerely wished to spend my life in this silence and among my loved ones like the prophets of ancient times.
After crossing the Trojan shores between the mainland and Bozcaada, we passed Beşika Bay. To our right, the plain of Troy, in the distance, the peaks of Ida. To our left, in the bay open to the west winds, the sun sets behind the mountains rising in the middle of the island...
Two hours after leaving Bozcaada (Tenedos), we reach Sigee Cape (today Yeniçeri Cape), where Caesar once vainly searched for the tomb of Achilles. "Then the Dardanelles, where the waters squeezed between the lands flow in whirlpools, appear before you" (Plinus). The distance between entry and exit of the channel varies between fifteen leagues. In Çanakkale, it is between 900 and 1000 paces, which is the narrowest part of the strait.
During the reign of Mehmet IV, two fortresses built by Grand Vizier Mehmet Köprülü in 1658 and renewed by modern art since Baron de Tott stand facing each other like two sentinels, guarding the entrance to the strait. One is on the European shore, at the tip of a rocky cape where traditionalists accept Hecuba's tomb is located; the Turks call this place Kilidbahir. Further away, the old castle, whose construction dates back to the time of Mehmet II, can be seen. On the opposite shore, at the mouth of the river formerly known as Rhodius (Kocaçay/Sarıçay) descending from Mount Ida (Kocadağ), the castle in Asia rises, and the modern city of Çanakkale (The reason it is called Çanakkale is due to the presence of potters here since ancient times. They are still being made and the products are sent to Istanbul. However, they do not hold great value.) stretches at the foot of this castle.
Since we arrived in Çanakkale very early, we had to slow down, as the regulations command that commercial ships do not pass through the strait after sunset; warships, however, are never and for no reason exempt from this regulation, even if it has been abolished by international treaties. The only exception is the light-tonnage ships ensuring the correspondence of states friendly to the Ottomans. Even these must have a special firman and show it to the officials when entering and exiting the straits. A few years ago, Sir Stratford Canning, who today holds the title of Lord Redcliffe, encountered one of his capricious moments while passing in front of the castle upon his return from a tour of the Aegean islands, and after hoisting the British flag, he sailed on. A cannonball fired from the castle on the Asian side called the corvette to comply with the regulations. The corvette increased its speed. A second shot landed the cannonball on the deck of the ship. This time, His Excellency realized it was no joke. He gave the order to stop, and the corvette halted. While an officer from the ship went ashore to complete the formalities, the ambassador, in his ceremonial uniform, paid a courtesy visit to the commander of the castle and praised the artilleryman for his accurate shots and congratulated the commander.
This pasha is under the command of the Tophane Muiri, who is the commander-in-chief of the straits and all the fortresses in the empire. Consuls and vice-consuls also have residences in Çanakkale. Since Istanbul became the commercial center of the Middle East (formerly it was Izmir), the number of these representatives has increased, and most of the states that maintain constant contact with Turkey; England, France, Austria, Russia, Greece, Sardinia, Sicily, and Belgium, have representations in present-day Çanakkale.
A little further away, where the Asian shore juts towards Europe at Nağra Cape, the strait narrows again. This place is famous twice in history and legend. Xerxes built his bridge of ships there and crossed his army to the European side. Leander disappeared there in the waves that had carried him into the arms of his beloved many times...
According to Plinus, the width of the strait between Abydos and Sestos was seven stadia (1750 steps); however, due to the currents, this distance has increased three to four times. For this reason, modern rhetoric vehemently rejected the reality of the legend until June 20, 1811; on this unforgettable day of his life, Lord Byron swam across the strait at the place where Leander drowned, in the presence of witnesses, and vindicated the ancients. The beauty of the Dardanelles cannot be compared to that of the Bosphorus. On the European side, the land is barren and cultivated. On the Asian side, villages are scattered in a way that is pleasing to the eye. Among them are lush vineyards, wooded hills, flocks, and valleys watered by cool streams. The banks of these rivers are filled with cranes, seen grazing in flocks, some perched on the roofs of houses and the tops of minarets, standing guard as if keeping watch, intermittently beating the air with a clattering sound reminiscent of castanets...
This coast is also rich in historical memories. One mile north of Çanakkale, you reach the place where legend places the ruins of Lapseki (Lampsacus); however, in modern Lapseki, there is not the slightest trace to suggest that the ancient city, a devotee of the Meretricious Venus, was here.
A little further on, at the rocky cape where the lighthouse marking the entrance to the strait for ships coming from the Marmara is located, the charming town of Çardak, with its pavilion, can be seen; then on the opposite shore, you reach Gelibolu (ancient Callipollis) and finally the Sea of Marmara.
Gelibolu has played an important role in Ottoman military history. It was from there that they first set foot on the European continent, so much so that the capture of this fortress was the first stage of the victorious march that would take them from the shores of Çanakkale to Vienna in a century...
Gelibolu, the former residence of the Captain Pasha, is the last stop for steamships heading to Istanbul. The distance between these two cities is thirty-three nautical miles, covered in twelve hours. Real Turkey begins here. Three-quarters of the Aegean islands are Greek. Izmir is more than half European; the Turks already call it Infidel Izmir. In contrast, Gelibolu, with its dirty and crooked streets, sparse and motley population, stray dogs roaming the streets in packs, more turbans than fezzes, and more fezzes than hats, has the appearance of a complete Turkish city."