{"id":32825,"date":"2022-05-24T14:57:53","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T11:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/the-city-where-an-epic-began-historical-sites-of-samsun\/"},"modified":"2022-07-27T15:22:35","modified_gmt":"2022-07-27T12:22:35","slug":"the-city-where-an-epic-began-historical-sites-of-samsun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/the-city-where-an-epic-began-historical-sites-of-samsun\/","title":{"rendered":"The city where an epic began: Historical sites of Samsun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-css-opacity has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#ebebeb;color:#ebebeb\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Index:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#ataturk-journey-samsun\">May 16-19, 1919 \u2014 an introduction: Atat\u00fcrk&#8217;s journey to Samsun<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#tobacco-pier\">Long and narrow: The Tobacco Pier (T\u00fct\u00fcn \u0130skelesi) and the Path of Independence (Kurtulu\u015f Yolu)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#historic-bronze-monuments\">Historic bronze monuments<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#samsun-museums\">Collected remnants of May 19: Samsun museums<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-css-opacity has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#ebebeb;color:#ebebeb\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ataturk-journey-samsun\"><b>May 16-19, 1919, an introduction: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 <\/span><b>Atat\u00fcrk&#8217;s journey to Samsun<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bandirma-vapuru.webp\" alt=\"Band\u0131rma Ferry, Samsun\" class=\"wp-image-32665\" width=\"784\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bandirma-vapuru.webp 784w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bandirma-vapuru-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bandirma-vapuru-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bandirma-vapuru-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bandirma-vapuru-696x464.webp 696w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/bandirma-vapuru-630x420.webp 630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 784px) 100vw, 784px\" \/><figcaption>A replica of the celebrated ferry named &#8220;Band\u0131rma&#8221;, which departed from Galata on Friday, May 16, 1919, carrying Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the ship&#8217;s captain \u0130smail Hakk\u0131 Durusu and his 18 companions. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>May 19, 1919, one of the turning points in the history of the Republic of T\u00fcrkiye, is one of the most precious days in the Turkish year. In fact, Atat\u00fcrk himself dedicated the day to the youth of T\u00fcrkiye and it is celebrated as &#8220;Youth and Sports Day&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s start with the story of the journey that started the epic tale of our country: The passenger-cargo vessel dubbed \u201cBand\u0131rma\u201d, carrying Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the ship&#8217;s captain \u0130smail Hakk\u0131 Durusu and his 18 companions, departed from Galata on Friday, 16 May 1919 in the afternoon, on Monday; it docked at Kalyon Cape on May 19, 1919, arrives to Kalyon Cape. From there, the passengers were transferred by boat on to the Central Pier by boats. \u0130smail Yurtsever, the owner of one of these boats, later recorded the following statement about Atat\u00fcrk: \u201cI didn&#8217;t know Atat\u00fcrk then. I saw him for the first time in a dinghy, and then in Samsun with a wide-collared legion cloak and a kalpac on his head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Atat\u00fcrk is a soldier on duty during this journey and as such he was appropriately dressed in his uniform\/; however, after a few days, he will prefer to act as a civilian, and made the choice to wear civilian clothing going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the story begins\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now let&#8217;s embark on a new journey to this strategically significant port, Samsun, and take the May 19 route through the city, which refreshes the eye with its fertile soil. After first leaving you a link to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.turkishairlines.com\/en-int\/flights\/flights-to-samsun\/?utm_source=tkblog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=tkblogpostbookaticket\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Samsun flight ticket<\/a> link here, we are ready to start! Here are the historical places in Samsun you won\u2019t want to miss\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-css-opacity has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#ebebeb;color:#ebebeb\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tobacco-pier\"><b>Long and narrow: The Tobacco Pier (T\u00fct\u00fcn \u0130skelesi) and the Path of Independence (Kurtulu\u015f Yolu)<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tu\u0308tu\u0308n-iskelesi-kurtulus\u0327-yolu.webp\" alt=\"Tobacco Pier and the Path of Independence\" class=\"wp-image-32667\" width=\"784\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tu\u0308tu\u0308n-iskelesi-kurtulus\u0327-yolu.webp 784w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tu\u0308tu\u0308n-iskelesi-kurtulus\u0327-yolu-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tu\u0308tu\u0308n-iskelesi-kurtulus\u0327-yolu-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tu\u0308tu\u0308n-iskelesi-kurtulus\u0327-yolu-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tu\u0308tu\u0308n-iskelesi-kurtulus\u0327-yolu-696x464.webp 696w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tu\u0308tu\u0308n-iskelesi-kurtulus\u0327-yolu-630x420.webp 630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 784px) 100vw, 784px\" \/><figcaption>The Path of Independence that stretches from Tobacco Pier, is 45 meters wide and exactly 400 meters long.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Tobacco Pier, where Mustafa Kemal Pasha stepped into Samsun, has a great symbolic meaning. T\u00fct\u00fcn \u0130skelesi, as it is known in the original, is where the first step of the National Struggle was also taken. The M\u0131nt\u0131ka Palas Hotel of the period was located here, and the path to what is today&#8217;s Samsun Gazi Museum is also important walk to reproduce. For this reason, this protocol road, called \u201cKurtulu\u015f Yolu (Part of Independence)\u201d by Samsun Metropolitan Municipality, is undoubtedly the first among the historical trails to walk in Samsun. Factoid: The Path of Independence is 45 meters wide and exactly 400 meters long. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-css-opacity has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#ebebeb;color:#ebebeb\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"samsun-museums\"><b>Everything you ever wanted to know about May 19, 1919: Samsun museums<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-Gazi-Mu\u0308zesi.webp\" alt=\"Samsun Gazi Museum\" class=\"wp-image-32669\" width=\"784\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-Gazi-Mu\u0308zesi.webp 784w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-Gazi-Mu\u0308zesi-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-Gazi-Mu\u0308zesi-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-Gazi-Mu\u0308zesi-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-Gazi-Mu\u0308zesi-696x464.webp 696w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-Gazi-Mu\u0308zesi-630x420.webp 630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 784px) 100vw, 784px\" \/><figcaption>The M\u0131nt\u0131ka Palas Hotel edifice, which was gifted to Mustafa Kemal Pasha on behalf of the people of Samsun in 1926, has been welcoming visitors in its new incarnation as the Samsun Gazi Museum since November 8, 1998. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Samsun Gazi Museum<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Samsun Gazi Museum is the second stop on our list of historical places to visit in Samsun. The original name of the building, which was built as a hotel by Jean Ionnis in 1902, was the M\u0131nt\u0131ka Palas Hotel: Mustafa Kemal stayed at this hotel when he traveled to Samsun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Osman (Atli) Bey, who was the Muhasebe-i Hususiye (Private Accounting) Manager of Canik Liva at the time, described the preparations made for Mustafa Kemal Pasha to settle in the M\u0131nt\u0131ka Palas Hotel as follows: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was the Accounting Director at Samsun at that time. One evening, Mr. Mutasarrif Ethem invited me to his house.&nbsp;<i>\u2018An inspection board acting under the chairmanship of a Pasha from \u0130stanbul is headed here. They&#8217;ll be here on the eighteenth. Since he will be staying for a few days, let&#8217;s prepare a place for him and his entourage. We have been informed of this by the Ministry of Internal Affairs Department from \u0130stanbul. Time is&#8230; as you know. Since we can&#8217;t ask for sacrifices from anyone, we will have to settle the matter between ourselves. You&#8217;re my hope. I need you to be occupied with this job as from tomorrow morning.\u2019 &nbsp;he said to me.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI gave it a lot of thought all through the night. I immediately thought of the vacant M\u0131nt\u0131ka Palas Hotel, located next to my house. The next morning, I made a deal with the owner of the building and arranged for him to open the hotel. I brought a cot from the military hospital, a bed and a quilt from home and neighbors. We also brought items such as tables, chairs and writing sets from the office and equipped the rooms, hall, and kitchen.\u201d *<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The building, which was gifted to Mustafa Kemal Pasha in the name of the people of Samsun in 1926, has been welcoming visitors in its new incarnation as the Samsun Gazi Museum since 8 November 1998. Nearly 200 artifacts from the period are exhibited in the museum, as are wax sculptures of the comrades-in-arms who set foot in the city together with Atat\u00fcrk on May 19, 1919. Do not forget to inscribe the Gazi Museum at the very top of your route of historical places to visit in Samsun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Band\u0131rma Ferry and National Struggle Park Open-Air Museum<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Band\u0131rma Ferry carrying Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his comrades-in-arms to Samsun is a ship engraved in both history and our memories and is far from an ordinary place to visit and pay respects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A replica of the original Band\u0131rma Ferry, erected on the square where Atat\u00fcrk and his friends first set foot in Samsun, was opened to visitors in 2003. Atat\u00fcrk&#8217;s belongings, tools and equipment are also on display in the Band\u0131rma Ferry and National Struggle Park Open-Air Museum, as well as wax sculptures of Atat\u00fcrk&#8217;s comrades-in-arms and crew members. As you explore, lend an ear: you\u2019ll hear Atat\u00fcrk&#8217;s favorite songs constantly echoing over the museum sound system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Havza Atat\u00fcrk House Museum<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The first headquarters of the Great Leader, where he ignited the National Struggle, was the Mesudiye Hotel. The house, which was considered the most exclusive accommodation in Havza at that time, was allocated for a month to host the \u201cPasha\u201d and his entourage. The building, which is open to visitors today as Havza Atat\u00fcrk House Museum, has an important place among the historical places to visit in Samsun. The first circular of the National Struggle, documents, and correspondence regarding the start of the War of Independence, and many other details are exhibited in the Havza Atat\u00fcrk House Museum, attracting significant attention from all visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Sadi Tekkesi Kuv\u00e2-yi Milliye Museum<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sheikh Sadi Tekkesi (Dervish Lodge), one of the first institutions to support the decision of the War of Independence in Anatolia, has an important place in the history of the National Struggle. There are also seven wax statues in the museum, which was restored by the Samsun Metropolitan Municipality and opened to the public in 2013 as the Sadi Lodge Kuv\u00e2-yi Milliye Museum. The museum, located in \u0130lkad\u0131m district, has a valuable place among the historical places to visit in Samsun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-css-opacity has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#ebebeb;color:#ebebeb\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"historic-bronze-monuments\"><b>Bronze commemorative monuments<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-onur-aniti.webp\" alt=\"The Statue of Honor in Samsun\" class=\"wp-image-32671\" width=\"784\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-onur-aniti.webp 784w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-onur-aniti-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-onur-aniti-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-onur-aniti-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-onur-aniti-696x464.webp 696w, https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Samsun-onur-aniti-630x420.webp 630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 784px) 100vw, 784px\" \/><figcaption>The Samsun Statue of Honor (Samsun Onur An\u0131t\u0131), commissioned by the people of Samsun in 1927 and erected in 1932, is considered a landmark of the city.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>The Statue of Honor<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Atat\u00fcrk Park in the \u0130lkad\u0131m district of Samsun has the distinction of being the first public park in Samsun\u2019s history. The hallmark of the park next to Republic Square is the Statue of Honor from the studio of the Australian sculptor Heinrich Krippel. The Statue of Honor, commissioned by the people of Samsun in 1927 and erected in 1932, is considered a landmark of the city. The bronze statue depicting equestrian Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk in an equestrian pose boasts a pedestal 4.75 meters high and the total height of the monument reaches 8.85 meters. Do not forget leave enough time to relax in this beautiful park after visiting the Statue of Honor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>\u0130lkad\u0131m Monument<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Here we see the \u0130lkad\u0131m Monument. This stop on our list of historical places to visit in Samsun features a monument created by sculptor Hakk\u0131 Atamulu between 1981-1982 to commemorate the centenary of Atat\u00fcrk&#8217;s birthday. The sculpture is located on a reconstruction of the exact pier where \u201cPasha\u201d first set foot in Samsun. Atat\u00fcrk and his accompanying commanders are seen at the \u0130lkad\u0131m Monument. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-css-opacity has-background is-style-wide\" style=\"background-color:#ebebeb;color:#ebebeb\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>Sources<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>National Journal of Education, <i>meb.gov.tr<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Samsun Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, <i>samsun.ktb.gov.tr<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i>*Kulturportali.gov.tr<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Index: May 16-19, 1919 \u2014 an introduction: Atat\u00fcrk&#8217;s journey to Samsun Long and narrow: The Tobacco Pier (T\u00fct\u00fcn \u0130skelesi) and the Path of Independence (Kurtulu\u015f Yolu) Historic bronze monuments Collected remnants of May 19: Samsun museums May 16-19, 1919, an introduction: \u2014 Atat\u00fcrk&#8217;s journey to Samsun May 19, 1919, one of the turning points in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":32673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1102,145,228,147],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-32825","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-samsun-travel-guide","8":"category-destinations","9":"category-historical-places-to-visit-and-routes","10":"category-trip-ideas"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}