Bafra
Bafra is a district of Samsun Province of Turkey. It is a settlement located 20 km from the Black Sea, in the fertile delta of the Kızılırmak River. The Bafra Plain is famous in Turkey for its rich soil and high quality tobacco growing conditions. The city is well known in Turkey for its ice cream, cigarettes, tobacco and agricultural produce. In 2020, the district reported a population of 143,366. The city is located 52 km northwest of Samsun and is connected by State road D.010.
The name of the municipality is thought to have come from the Phoenician name "bafira" or "bavra". Other beliefs about the etymology of the region come from the name "Ba-Hura" (Great River) given to Kizilirmak which generates the delta upon which the city is located. Historical records of human settlement in Bafra and the Kizilirmak delta date to as early as 5000 BC. Researchers working at the nearby İkiztepe ruins have found traces of human settlement belonging to the Chalcolithic period (5000-4000 BC). It has been determined that a continuous human settlement existed in the İkiztepe ruins between 4000 BC and 1700 BC. Additional evidence of settlement is found to have existed during the Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC) and Early Hittite (1900-1800 BC) period. Researchers found that an early capital existed in Hattusa, Anatolia and later moved to the Kizilirmak Valley. The region was known as Paphlagonia as of 670 BC. 6th century BC, Persians invaded the region in 546 BC and captured it from the Lydians. Graves from the Hellenistic period (330-30 BC) exist at İkiztepe.
The region came under the rule of the Rome who renamed the area Gadilon and later Helega. After the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area became part of the Byzantine Empire. The region was a part of the Byzantine Empire until the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. After that battle, Bafra was captured by the Anatolian Seljuk Ruler Kaykaus I. After being conquered by the Seljuk Empire the region was repopulated by members of various Turkmen tribes. The invasion of the Mongol Empire began in 1243 and led to the collapse of Seljuk Empire and the establishment of scattered Turkish principalities. During this period, the Bafra Principality was briefly established. This political arrangement continued until 1460, when Bafra was again conquered and made part of the Ottoman Empire.
Under the Ottoman Empire, the town of Bafra was incorporated into Trabzon Province under the leadership of Canik Sanjak. The region flourished as an agricultural, fishing and shipping center under the Ottoman Empire. The exact date of the establishment of the modern town is not known, though according to historical census records it appears in 1854. Many Turks came to Bafra from the Crimean Khanate after the loss of Crimea to the Russian Empire in 1783. These refugees largely settled in Bafra due to its location on the Black Sea. According to the Ottoman census of 1893, the population of Bafra was 62,782. The vast majority of those living in the region at the time of that census (62% (38,936 people)) were Sunni Muslim Turks. The Greek population of Bafra 22,834 (36%). As a result of the 1923 partition, the Greek population left the region entirely and was replaced by Greek Muslims most of whom came from Western Thrace. Fortunes for the Ottoman Empire declined further as a result of the Balkan and First World Wars during which the region became significantly impoverished. The decline in economic conditions lead to growing tensions between the largely impoverish ethnic Turkish Sunni Muslim population and the wealthier Greek and Armenian Christian populations. In the events preceding the Turkish War of Independence, the Greek population of the region founded the Mavri Mira Society and considered the establishment of a Pontic governate to fortify their interests. However, with the start of the National Struggle in 1919, these aims could not be realized and armed conflicted ensued. The Pontic Greek population left the region after the partition of 1923 which caused widespread economic devastation.
Refugees from the former Ottoman Empire were settled in Bafra and in villages along the Kızılırmak river in an attempt to repopulate the region and revive its agricultural economy. With the repopulation of the region, Bafra entered into a period of extensive agricultural, cultural and economic development. Between 1950 and 1951, a small number of Turks from the Deliorman region of Bulgaria resettled in Bafra. in the years 1950-1951. Due to Bafra's appealing growing climate and tobacco industry, many people from the Eastern Black Sea, Tokat, Sivas and various provinces of Anatolia settled in the district. Bafra has a small population of Pomak people. Some of Pomak people continue to live in a traditional manner in the rural portions of Bafta. After the First Balkan War, a large population of Albanian immigrants from Kosovo settled around Bafra. Albanian has been forgotten by most Albanians, it is spoken only in villages among the elderly. In recent decades Bafra became a region defined by out-migration of the local population, political dysfunction and a decades long economic malaise caused by the decline of the tobacco industry and deindustrialization.
The name of the municipality is thought to have come from the Phoenician name "bafira" or "bavra". Other beliefs about the etymology of the region come from the name "Ba-Hura" (Great River) given to Kizilirmak which generates the delta upon which the city is located. Historical records of human settlement in Bafra and the Kizilirmak delta date to as early as 5000 BC. Researchers working at the nearby İkiztepe ruins have found traces of human settlement belonging to the Chalcolithic period (5000-4000 BC). It has been determined that a continuous human settlement existed in the İkiztepe ruins between 4000 BC and 1700 BC. Additional evidence of settlement is found to have existed during the Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC) and Early Hittite (1900-1800 BC) period. Researchers found that an early capital existed in Hattusa, Anatolia and later moved to the Kizilirmak Valley. The region was known as Paphlagonia as of 670 BC. 6th century BC, Persians invaded the region in 546 BC and captured it from the Lydians. Graves from the Hellenistic period (330-30 BC) exist at İkiztepe.
The region came under the rule of the Rome who renamed the area Gadilon and later Helega. After the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area became part of the Byzantine Empire. The region was a part of the Byzantine Empire until the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. After that battle, Bafra was captured by the Anatolian Seljuk Ruler Kaykaus I. After being conquered by the Seljuk Empire the region was repopulated by members of various Turkmen tribes. The invasion of the Mongol Empire began in 1243 and led to the collapse of Seljuk Empire and the establishment of scattered Turkish principalities. During this period, the Bafra Principality was briefly established. This political arrangement continued until 1460, when Bafra was again conquered and made part of the Ottoman Empire.
Under the Ottoman Empire, the town of Bafra was incorporated into Trabzon Province under the leadership of Canik Sanjak. The region flourished as an agricultural, fishing and shipping center under the Ottoman Empire. The exact date of the establishment of the modern town is not known, though according to historical census records it appears in 1854. Many Turks came to Bafra from the Crimean Khanate after the loss of Crimea to the Russian Empire in 1783. These refugees largely settled in Bafra due to its location on the Black Sea. According to the Ottoman census of 1893, the population of Bafra was 62,782. The vast majority of those living in the region at the time of that census (62% (38,936 people)) were Sunni Muslim Turks. The Greek population of Bafra 22,834 (36%). As a result of the 1923 partition, the Greek population left the region entirely and was replaced by Greek Muslims most of whom came from Western Thrace. Fortunes for the Ottoman Empire declined further as a result of the Balkan and First World Wars during which the region became significantly impoverished. The decline in economic conditions lead to growing tensions between the largely impoverish ethnic Turkish Sunni Muslim population and the wealthier Greek and Armenian Christian populations. In the events preceding the Turkish War of Independence, the Greek population of the region founded the Mavri Mira Society and considered the establishment of a Pontic governate to fortify their interests. However, with the start of the National Struggle in 1919, these aims could not be realized and armed conflicted ensued. The Pontic Greek population left the region after the partition of 1923 which caused widespread economic devastation.
Refugees from the former Ottoman Empire were settled in Bafra and in villages along the Kızılırmak river in an attempt to repopulate the region and revive its agricultural economy. With the repopulation of the region, Bafra entered into a period of extensive agricultural, cultural and economic development. Between 1950 and 1951, a small number of Turks from the Deliorman region of Bulgaria resettled in Bafra. in the years 1950-1951. Due to Bafra's appealing growing climate and tobacco industry, many people from the Eastern Black Sea, Tokat, Sivas and various provinces of Anatolia settled in the district. Bafra has a small population of Pomak people. Some of Pomak people continue to live in a traditional manner in the rural portions of Bafta. After the First Balkan War, a large population of Albanian immigrants from Kosovo settled around Bafra. Albanian has been forgotten by most Albanians, it is spoken only in villages among the elderly. In recent decades Bafra became a region defined by out-migration of the local population, political dysfunction and a decades long economic malaise caused by the decline of the tobacco industry and deindustrialization.
Map - Bafra
Map
Country - Turkey
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| Flag of Turkey | |
One of the world's earliest permanently settled regions, present-day Turkey was home to important Neolithic sites like Göbekli Tepe, and was inhabited by ancient civilisations including the Hattians, Hittites, Anatolian peoples, Mycenaean Greeks, Persians and others. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great which started the Hellenistic period, most of the ancient regions in modern Turkey were culturally Hellenised, which continued during the Byzantine era. The Seljuk Turks began migrating in the 11th century, and the Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into small Turkish principalities. Beginning in the late 13th century, the Ottomans united the principalities and conquered the Balkans, and the Turkification of Anatolia increased during the Ottoman period. After Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, Ottoman expansion continued under Selim I. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire became a global power. From the late 18th century onwards, the empire's power declined with a gradual loss of territories. Mahmud II started a period of modernisation in the early 19th century. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 restricted the authority of the Sultan and restored the Ottoman Parliament after a 30-year suspension, ushering the empire into a multi-party period. The 1913 coup d'état put the country under the control of the Three Pashas, who facilitated the Empire's entry into World War I as part of the Central Powers in 1914. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Greek and Assyrian subjects. After its defeat in the war, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRY | Turkish lira | ₺ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| AV | Avar language |
| AZ | Azerbaijani language |
| KU | Kurdish language |
| TR | Turkish language |