Bandırma Ferry to go virtual

SAMSUN

The Bandırma Ferry Virtual Museum, realized with the cooperation of Samsun Metropolitan Municipality and Sabancı Foundation, will be opened to visitors on the 102nd anniversary of the arrival of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, in the northern province of Samsun, regarded as the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence.

According to a written statement made by the Metropolitan Municipality, the exact replica of the Bandırma Ferry, which brought Atatürk and his 18 comrades to Samsun on May 19, 1919, was made in 2001.

The replica was put into service as a museum on May 18, 2003, and the Bandırma Ferry, which is visited by thousands of people every year, can now be visited virtually.

The Bandırma Ferry Museum can be visited at “www.samsun.bel.tr” and “www.sabancivakfi.org.”

“In the Bandırma Ferry Museum and the National Struggle Open Air Museum, there is a copy of the document showing that Atatürk accepted his birthday as May 19. The original 1923 edition of the Lausanne Peace Treaty in the Ottoman language is one of the most important historical documents of the museum. In the museum, where a historical journey is made based on the documents including the duty instructions, a British Visa, the Headquarters Committee, Atatürk’s telegram indicating his arrival in Samsun and important documents regarding the journeys to Havza, Amasya and Erzurum are exhibited,” the statement said.

The exhibition hall also displays the original Belgian-made Nagant brand pistol belonging to Atatürk and the replicas of the clothes he wore in Dolmabahçe Palace and Savarona Yacht, as well as the repercussions of Atatürk’s death on the Samsun press and mourning ceremonies held in the city. Atatürk’s death report, his will and examples from 14 books written by him during his lifetime are also on display.

“The Bandırma Ferry has changed the history of a country with the guests it carried from Istanbul to Samsun 102 years ago. In this sense, it is of great importance. Thanks to this project, we are honored to present Samsun, the City of the Sunrise, to the whole world through a virtual environment,” Samsun Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Demir said.