Bandirma Ferry Museum

A Museum In A Replica Of The Steamship In Which Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Landed At Samsun On 19 May 1919 To Begin The Turkish War Of Independence, With Cabins, Photographs And Maps. A Short, Flag Lit Stop At The Samsun Waterfront, Tied To A Key Date In Turkish History · Ilkadim, Samsun

The Bandirma Ferry Museum on the Samsun waterfront is a ship you can walk aboard, a steamer that stands for the vessel on which Mustafa Kemal Ataturk crossed the Black Sea from Istanbul and stepped ashore at Samsun on 19 May 1919. That landing is taught across Turkiye as the start of the War of Independence, and 19 May is a national holiday for youth and sport. The craft here is a replica moored near the Ataturk Monument rather than the original hull (confirm how much is original), and its rooms are fitted out with cabins, a bridge, maps, uniforms, photographs and model figures that tell the story of the crossing in order. Samsun itself is a large Black Sea port and hazelnut city with a long seafront park, so the museum fits naturally into a walk along the shore, and the Ataturk Monument stands close by. Most visitors need about an hour aboard and a little more for the square and the waterfront cafes.

Bandirma Ferry Museum, a replica of the ship Bandirma moored at the Samsun waterfront on the Black Sea coast, about 100 m from the Ataturk Monument; coordinates approximate, Ilkadim, Samsun, Turkiye

The museum is normally open most days from about 09:00 to 17:00, a little later in summer, with one closed day each week that is often Monday (confirm the day with the city or the ticket office). Ticket sales usually stop thirty minutes before closing, and the last entry may be earlier on public holidays and in winter. On 19 May the waterfront fills for official ceremonies, entry rules can change that day, and queues are long (confirm). Strong sea wind and rain may close the upper deck, so check the weather before you plan a photograph from the bridge.

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