12.07.2026 11:00
The Bandırma Ship Museum was transported 3.5 kilometers by road to İstiklal Square, where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk first set foot in Samsun on May 19, 1919. The 240-ton museum was moved in 4 hours using a 72-wheel system and is planned to open in 2027.
The Bandırma Ship Museum was brought to İstiklal Square, where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk first set foot in Samsun, by land.
The Bandırma Museum Ship, a replica of the Bandırma Ferry on which Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk arrived in Samsun from Istanbul on May 19, 1919, with 18 comrades-in-arms, was transported by land from Canik district to the Liberation Road at İstiklal Square in İlkadım district. The 240-ton Bandırma Ferry Museum was moved approximately 3.5 kilometers with extensive security measures. During the transportation process, which was closely followed by citizens, a 72-wheel independent suspension axle system was used. The process, which started at 06:30, lasted about 4 hours. It was reported that the Bandırma Ship Museum is the heaviest tonnage land transfer by the Metropolitan Municipality.
'WE ARE MOVING IT TO THE POINT OF THAT 1919 MORNING' Deputy Secretary General of the Metropolitan Municipality, Necdet Çamaş, said, "The Bandırma Ferry was built in 1999. It had been serving in that area, Doğu Bahçeliki, for about 26 years. Our Metropolitan Mayor Halit Doğan decided to reorganize an area of approximately 91 square meters here as both İstiklal Square and the National Struggle Open Air Museum. Now we are moving the Bandırma Ferry by land to the point of that 1919 morning."
'WILL REACH 2-3 MILLION VISITORS' Stating that it became operational after 8 months of work, Çamaş said, "We researched the companies in Turkey capable of doing this job one by one. We held meetings with them. Later, technical teams from Germany and the carrier company's engineers came here. We held 4-5 on-site meetings. We conducted all simulations. I can say this: Samsun is the city that welcomed Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who carried the destiny of a nation across the Black Sea.
Samsun is the city of May 19, Samsun is the city of the first step. This project is a tribute to this history. 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 from next year onward. It will reach 2-3 million visitors. After moving it to its place, we will carry out landscaping work around it. After those landscaping works, we will make it accessible for people to visit, perhaps not entering but walking around. But our main goal is to open it together with the National Struggle Open Air Museum in the spring of 2027, in May, hopefully with a program that our President will attend," he said.