The Bandırma Ship Museum, symbolizing Atatürk's journey, has been relocated to Independence Square, enhancing its accessibility for visitors.
One of the symbols of Samsun, the replica of the Bandırma Ferry, which brought Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and 18 of his comrades to Samsun on May 19, 1919, has been transported by land to the Independence Square Liberation Road, where the Bandırma Ship Museum and National Struggle Open Air Museum is located.
The 240-ton Bandırma Ship Museum was moved to its new location by covering approximately 3.5 kilometers with a 72-wheeled independent axle system.
Citizens closely followed the transfer process of the museum ship.
Necdet Çamaş, Deputy Secretary General of Samsun Metropolitan Municipality, told reporters that the Bandırma Ship Museum was opened to visitors in Samsun in 1999.
Stating that they moved the museum to the location where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk set foot in Samsun to start the National Struggle, Çamaş said, 'The transfer process took place after approximately 8 months of technical work. We researched firms that could carry out this work in Turkey one by one. We held discussions with them. Later, technical teams from Germany and engineers from the transporting company came here, we conducted all simulations, and we are progressing in a very healthy manner.'
Çamaş explained that the Bandırma Ship Museum would reach more visitors in its new location, and he noted:
'I believe that the Bandırma Ferry, which currently has about 1 million visitors in a limited area, will become one of the most visited museums in Turkey starting from next year. As someone who knows all the processes from the construction phase to today's transfer process, I can say that today a note is being made in the history of Samsun. After the landscaping works, we will make it accessible for our people to visit, perhaps not to enter, but to walk around it. I hope we will inaugurate it with a program in May 2027, together with the National Struggle Open Air Museum.'
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
