Samsun
Samsun is a city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port.
The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of 1,382,376. The city is home to Ondokuz Mayıs University, several hospitals, three large shopping malls, Samsunspor football club, an opera house and a large and modern manufacturing district. The city is best known as the place where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk began the Turkish War of Independence in 1919.
Getting to Samsun
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).
- 01Samsun-Çarşamba Airport
- 02Samsun
Things to do
Theatre: Samsun Art Theatre is midtown off Lise Cd. Hamams - traditional Turkish baths - are just north of Grand Mosque on Necip Bey Cd, and 200 m west on 100 Yıl Blv near Kurşunlu Mosque. Samsun sea front stretches for several km northwest from downtown, with a firm surface for cycling or skating.
- 01Atakum Beach is
- 02Çakırlar Grove
Small nature reserve with boardwalks over wetland forested with ash and elm.
Where to eat
Pide is eaten here in industrial quantities. Common styles include kapalı ("covered," meaning folded over into a patty), peynirli-yumurtalı (cheese and egg), pastırmalı-yumurtalı (spicy cured meat and egg), and sucuklu-yumurtalı (Turkish sausage and egg). Samsun Pide comes in various regional varieties, the most well-known being Terme Pidesi—named after the province of Terme—and Bafra Pidesi, named for Bafra.
Getting around Samsun the local way
- Get aroundOtherwise to get around you may need to take a tram, bus, dolmuş or taxi.
- Go nextKızılırmak Delta Bird Reserve 50 km west is within a day trip from Samsun.
From Wikivoyage: Samsun, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: VisamLord90 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.