For sometime now I wanted to photograph Samsun. I had a pass-through in 2002 and also made an attempt to go in May of 2006. At both occasions I was unsuccessful! But this time during the ‘Ramazan Bayram’ / ‘Eid Mubarak’ holiday of 2006 I went there to photograph the City. I was happy that the streets were empty due to the holiday; and thus, I was able to take many photographs of various sites with not much difficulty.

Samsun has a special place in Turkish Republic’s history: on 19 May 1919 Ataturk, the grandfather of the country, began his ordeal for the War of Independence right after World War One right in this city. There is a memorial for his honor of arriving to Samsun and therefore I dedicated a Gallery for that memorial. Although the ship there was recently rebuilt, it is identical to the original. Its size, however, amazed me. It sure was very small but certainly large enough to carry the people that changed the future of Turkey irrevocably!

Two other galleries are of the shore line/harbor and the Sky Lift. I found them both very clean and the harbor filled with many statues. However when I look the city side from the water front I was amazed with the concretization of Samsun. As if the whole city was created overnight, filled with ubiquitous concrete with no identity of its own!

The Sky lift is new and it is in the western part of the town. It is near Atakum district. Apparently an International fairground will be created by the sea side. So this lift will fulfill its potential more so than it is doing right now.

The rest of the photos are from the old downtown area. Now just like any big city in Turkey, in Samsun there is a street that is lined with many banks which I like to call it the Bank’s Street. I very much enjoy the architectural diversity of building in these streets. This one in Samsun is certainly no different. As you can see that the modern Is Bank building is right in front of an 18th century stone building. A little further to east is the Central bank from the forties or the fifties. Then there is the Osmanli Bank or the late Ottoman Imperial Bank with its heavily French influenced architectural Styling. About 150 meters later is a small square with a Clock Tower in the center of it. But right before it is the Merkez Buyuk Mosque, constructed in 1300 (1889 C.E.)

The tile works around the elevators and the underground tunnels are also must see in Samsun. Enjoy!...