Samsun

Museums & History

Bandırma Ship Museum

On Samsun’s Black Sea waterfront, the Bandırma Ship Museum tells the story of a voyage that helped shape modern Turkey. On 19 May 1919, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his companions arrived in Samsun aboard the Bandırma, a date remembered as the beginning of the Turkish National Struggle. The ship you visit today is a full-scale replica; the original was dismantled in 1925. Inside, wax figures recreate a meeting between Atatürk and his companions, while documents and historical displays explain the journey and the events that followed. Knowing the story before stepping aboard makes this modest vessel much more meaningful. Continue into the surrounding National Struggle Open-Air Museum, where monuments and reliefs trace Turkey’s road to independence. Together, the ship and its grounds offer an accessible introduction to why Samsun holds such an important place in the country’s history.