Çeşme

Çeşme stands at the western tip of the Anatolian peninsula, across a narrow strait from Chios. Its sheltered harbour and castle face the Aegean routes linking Smyrna with the islands. The Ottoman fortress, built under Bayezid II in the early sixteenth century, guarded a coast exposed to seaborne attack and trade alike.

In July 1770 the harbour became the scene of a disastrous naval battle during the Russo-Ottoman War. A Russian fleet entered the Aegean and engaged the Ottoman ships near Chios. The Ottoman fleet withdrew into Çeşme Bay, where Russian attacks and fireships set vessels ablaze. Much of the fleet was destroyed in the harbour. The defeat left a deep impression on Ottoman naval policy and exposed the vulnerability of a fleet crowded into an enclosed anchorage.