SS Bandırma

SS Bandırma is a museum ship in Samsun, Turkey, moored at the harbor quayside as a full-scale replica. The recreation measures 150 feet (46 meters) long and 22 feet (7 meters) wide, displaying the interior layout of a steamship from around 1900.

The original ship was built in Glasgow in 1878 under the name Trocadero and changed hands several times before entering Ottoman service as Bandırma. On May 19, 1919, it carried Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his staff from Istanbul to Samsun, marking the start of the Turkish National Movement.

The vessel takes its name from the Turkish port city of Bandırma and now serves as a floating memorial museum along the Black Sea. Visitors inside find recreated cabins and navigation instruments showing how passengers and crew traveled aboard such steamships in the early 20th century.

Access is via the gangway at the quayside, and the interior spaces span several levels requiring narrow stairways up and down. An outdoor area around the vessel displays additional exhibits and offers orientation panels about the voyage's history.

Inside stands old walnut furniture from the 1900s illustrating the fittings of passenger shipping at that time. A Black Sea map over 110 years old, printed on gazelle leather, hangs on one of the cabin walls and shows early navigation methods.

Location: Turkey

Location: Bandırma

GPS coordinates: 41.27330,36.36720

Latest update: December 9, 2025 13:10