Bafra is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of Samsun Province,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Covering about 1,500 km², and with over 140,000 inhabitants it is a settlement located from the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, in the fertile Kızılırmak Delta. The Bafra Plain is famous in

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. The city is located 52 km northwest of

Samsun Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...

and is connected by State road D.010.

History

$Bafracesme$ 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. The region came under the rule of the

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

who renamed the area Gadilon and later Helega. After the

Fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

, the area became part of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. The region was a part of the

until the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (theme), Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army ...

in 1071. After that battle, Bafra was captured by the Anatolian Seljuk Ruler Kaykaus I. After being conquered by the

Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...

the region was repopulated by members of various Turkmen tribes. The invasion of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

began in 1243 and led to the collapse of

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 The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Under the

, the town of Bafra was incorporated into

Trabzon Province Trabzon Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its area is 4,628 km2, and its population is 818,023 (2022). Located in a strategic ...

under the leadership of Canik Sanjak. The region flourished as an agricultural, fishing and shipping center under the

. The exact date of the establishment of the modern town is not known, though according to historical census records it appears in 1854.

Geography

Bafra is located in the western portion of Samsun Province. The city is 52 km northwest of

City Center and neighboring Atakum. The town directly to the east of Bafra is Ondokuzmayıs, the northern edge of the city is bounded by the

, to the west is Alçam and to the south Kavak, Havza and

Vezirköprü Vezirköprü is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,674 km2, and its population is 90,308 (2022). It is named after the Ottoman Albanian grand vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. History At ...

. Bafra sits in the Bafra Plain which is set in the Kızılırmak delta. To the south of the city are the Küre Mountains. The highest of these nearby mountains is Mount Nebiyan with an elevation of 1224 m. The Küre Mountains are the extensions of the Canik Mountains. The Kızılırmak River is Bafra's largest and Turkey's longest river. The river reaches the plain by crossing these mountains through a deep valley. The Bafra Plain was formed entirely by the sediment from the Kızılırmak River. The length of Kızılırmak is 1151 km. It river originates from Kızıl Mountain in Sivas and draws a wide arc through Central Anatolia before meeting the

north of Bafra. The rainy season in the region is between April and July during which floods are a common occurrence.

Subdivisions

There are 139

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Bafra District: * Adaköy * Ağcaalan * Ağıllar * Akalan * Aktekke * Alaçam * Alparslan * Altınay * Altınkaya * Altınova * Altınyaprak * Asar * Asmaçam * Azay * Bahçeler * Bakırpınarı * Balıklar * Barış * Başaran * Başkaya * Bengü * Boğazkaya * Burunca * Büyükcami * Çalköy * Çamaltı * Çatak * Çataltepe * Çetinkaya * Çilhane * Çulhakoca * Cumhuriyet * Darboğaz * Dededağı * Dedeli * Derbent * Dereler * Dikencik * Doğanca * Doğankaya * Düzköy * Elalan * Eldavut * Elifli * Emenli * Emirefendi * Esençay * Evrenuşağı * Eynegazi * Fatih * Fener * Fevziçakmak * Gazibeyli * Gaziosmanpaşa * Gazipaşa * Gerzeliler * Gökalan * Gökçeağaç * Gökçekent * Gökçesu * Göltepe * Gümüşyaprak * Hacınabi * Hacıoğlu * Harız * Hıdırellez * Hüseyinbeyli * İğdir * İkizpınar * İkiztepe * İlyaslı * İnözükoşaca * İshaklı * İsmetpaşa * Kahraman * Kalaycılı * Kamberli * Kanlıgüney * Kapıkaya * Karaburç * Karakütük * Karıncak * Karpuzlu * Kavakpınar * Kaygusuz * Kelikler * Kemalpaşa * Keresteci * Kızılırmak * Kolay * Komşupınar * Koruluk * Köseli * Koşu * Kozağzı * Küçükkavakpınar * Kuşçular * Kuşluğan * Kuzalan * Lengerli * Meşelitürkmenler * Mevlana * Müstecep * Örencik * Ortadurak * Osmanbeyli * Ozan * Paşaşeyh * Sahilkent * Şahinkaya * Sarıçevre * Sarıkaya * Sarıköy * Sarpın * Selemelik * Şeyhören * Şeyhulaş * Şirinköy * Sürmeli * Tabakhane * Taşköprü * Tepebaşı * Tepecik * Terzili * Türbe * Türkköyü * Tütüncüler * Üçpınar * Uluağaç * Yağmurca * Yaka * Yakıntaş * Yenialan * Yeniköy * Yeraltı * Yeşilköy * Yeşilyazı * Yiğitalan * Yörgüç

Climate

Bafra experiences a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csa''), with very warm, moderately dry summers, and cool, rainy, sporadically snowy winters. Panoramic photo of Bafra

Economy

Bafra's economy has historically been driven by the growth and export of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. The region's tobacco is known to be very low

nicotine Nicotine is a natural product, naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and ''Duboisia hopwoodii'') and is widely used recreational drug use, recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As ...

, small, red, light red colored, fine-grained, fine-grained, elastic, high-smoked, sweet, and aromatic. Foreign

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

manufacturers were said to desire the tobacco grown on the Bafra Plain in order to improve the quality of their products. Bafra tobacco was long sought as the highest quality of natural tobacco in the world. Due to a variety of factors including agricultural mismanagement, reduced demand, logistical challenges and innovation in tobacco growth elsewhere in the world has led to a decline in tobacco exports from Bafra. This has had a significant adverse effect on the local population and contributed to persistently high unemployment and out-migration among working age people in the region. This crisis was further exacerbated by the Turkish government's shutdown of TEKEL. Today tobacco production in the region is negligible with most former farms now growing other products.

Cuisine

* İçli Pide: is Bafra's most famous dish. Colloquially known as Pide, this is a popular and savory dish known for its origins in and around

. * Nokul: is a type of

puff pastry Puff pastry, also known as , is a light, flaky pastry, its base dough () composed of wheat flour and water. Butter or other solid fat () is then layered into the dough. The dough is repeatedly rolled and folded, rested, re-rolled and folded, encas ...

. Nokul is a type of pastry eaten in

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

with variations. Nokul is sometimes served hot as an appetizer instead of bread. It consists of a rolled sheet of yeast dough onto which feta-style white cheese, walnut or poppy seed is sprinkled over a thin coat of butter. The dough is then rolled, cut into individual portions, and baked. * Turkish delight with Cream: Residents of Bafra use a special cream made from buffalo milk. This is only available during certain months of the year. * Dondurma: A special type of sticky, yellow vanilla ice cream is produced in Bafra and is regionally popular. The ice cream is pounded and produced in a fashion that takes several hours.

Festivals

*Karadede Fair: A fair with over 100 years of history that was established in Gökçeağaç Village. The festival is held annually in Bafra on the last Sunday of August. Thousands of people attend the fair enjoying concerts, various events and shows. The fair has a wide array of stands and food vendors. *Bafra Watermelon Festival: An annual celebration is held in Bafra to celebrate the welcoming of watermelon to Turkey. The festival includes concerts, folklore performances, exhibitions and conferences about watermelon. The festival ceased operation in 2014. *Sele-Sepet top Kandil: A festival held on the 15th night of Ramadan month. *Kapikaya Festival: Nature and Sports Festival: A festival that lasts for 5 days on the Kapikaya Hill to the south of Bafra. The festival offers the opportunity to do various outdoor sports and aims to bring together national and international athletes over a shared love of nature.

Weaving and crafts

Regional crafts such as

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...

and rug knitting have continued to hold an important place in the life of residents of Bafra. Rug weaving,

wicker Wicker is a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as . Wicker was first documented ...

and zembell knitting and other handicrafts made by residents play a part in the region's economy and touristic appeal.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Samsun Province Districts of Samsun Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey