Samsun

Samsun in antiquity was Sampsounta or Amisos. A long line of conquests culminated in the Ottoman takeover in 1420. The city traded around the Black Sea and beyond, and still does, and in the 19th century it exported the local tobacco, described as a pungent but premium product. Its mosques were stone-built but its wooden secular buildings burnt again and again, notoriously in the great fire of 1869. This plus earth tremors means that the city lacks an "Old Town" and is mostly 20th century medium-rise.

Samsun has a special place in the republican history of Turkey. In 1919 Mustafa Kemal Pasha and some 50 officers and soldiers were sent in the ship Bandırma to supervise the disbanding of defeated Ottoman troops in the east. Meanwhile the Greeks were seizing Turkish territory and looked likely to capture Ankara. He landed on 19 May 1919 and proclaimed that the fight-back had begun; he rallied the troops, drove back the Greeks and secured Turkish independence on far better terms that the original peace deal. For this he became revered as Atatürk, "father of the Turks", and 19 May is celebrated nationally as "Atatürk's birthday".

In the late 20th century Samsun became a beach resort - mostly domestic tourism and weekend second homes, as western package tourists preferred the Med coast. The city nowadays sprawls for 20 km along the coast.

The climate is warm and oceanic. Summers are warm and showery, although Samsun doesn't have high mountains to draw the clouds so it avoids the heaviest of the rainfall. Spring and autumn are pleasant, winters are cool and wet and snow is uncommon.

Samsun is 410 km northeast of Ankara by D795. The Black Sea coast highway runs east to Trabzon (325 km) and west to Zonguldak (530 km).

By plane:

1 Samsun-Çarşamba Airport (SZF IATA), Çınarlık Blv (23 km east of city), ☏ +90 362 844 8830. Flights are frequent from Istanbul (both IST and SAW), daily from other major Turkish cities, and a few international flights in summer, mainly from Germany. Buses and taxis run to city centre and to Bafra for the Kızılırmak Delta. (updated Oct 2024)

By bus:

Buses from Istanbul run every couple of hours, taking 12 hours via Ankara, Kirikkale and Çorum; some continue to Trabzon. Buses also run from Kayseri (6 hours), Antalya (15 hours) and Izmir (14 hours). Bus lines on these routes are Metro Turizm and Flix Bus.

2 Samsun Bus Terminal is at the D795 / D010 junction 5 km west of city centre. Frequent dolmuşes run downtown.

By train:

The Hattı train runs once a day from Sivas, which has fast trains from Ankara, and slow trains from the east of Turkey. Trains each way set off around 08:30 and take 8 hours via Amasya and Havza. One other train leaves Amasya early morning and takes 3 hours to Samsun, returning late afternoon - this is shown on the regional or Bölgesel part of TCDD timetables, while the Hattı is a mainline or Anahat train.

The first couple of hours out of Samsun are a slow scenic winding wooded climb crossing and recrossing the small Mert River.

This line was closed for years for track upgrading, with the promise of speedy journeys once the work was complete. Passenger services resumed in 2023 but are as slow as ever.

3 Samsun railway station (Samsun Garı) is central, next to the harbour.