Amasra is a beautiful town situated on a peninsula on the Black Sea coast of Turkey. Like many other towns in Turkey's Black Sea region, Amasra is also a Greek town by origin and has a long history which dates all the way back to pre-Christian times. Being one of the Ionian colonies on the Black Sea coast, Amasra became part of the Pontic Greek Kingdom in 3rd Century B.C.; in the 13th century, the town was taken over by the Genovese who sought to obtain a monopoly over the Black Sea trade. Genovese rule came to an end when the entire Anatolian Black Sea coast were conquered by Sultan Mehmed II, thereby bringing Amasra into the realm of the expanding Ottoman Empire.
Today's Amasra is a busy seaside town, whose livelihood is highly reliant upon tourism. The great majority of the visitors are Turkish from big cities such as Ankara and Istanbul, who come by car and spend a weekend in this pleasant Black Sea town. There are several decent hotels and many restaurants and shops catering to tourist needs. Very few foreign visitors are in sight though, as there are no direct bus links to Turkey's major cities - one needs to change bus at Bartin in order to reach Amasra.
Mini-buses from Bartin stop at the town centre, near the Post Office (PTT) and is within walking distance to the beach, hotels, resturants and the main shopping area.
The beach front of Amasra is full of colourful fishing boats and day-tour tourist boats, with several fish restaurants, a seaside amusement park and many little stalls selling local specialities all thrown in together.
There are several noteworthy sights within the town centre, the most well known of which is the Amasra Castle:
The view of the Bay of Amasra from inside the Castle:
The postcard view of the Old Stone Bridge connecting Amasra with the island over a narrow inlet:
On weekends, the town is full of day-trippers from Ankara (about 4 hours away by car) who come to Amasra to enjoy freshly prepared seafood dinner, have a swim in the sea and enjoy the view of the Black Sea's lush green coastlines.
Amasra's town centre is very small and compact, it is easy to walk around and everything is within walking distance from one another. Despite the presence of large number of Turkish tourists in the summer months, Amasra still retains a very authentic ambience and is by no means overtly touristic. The town has all the necessary tourist facilities yet it is still a simple, charming town. In the evenings, several restaurants and bars offer live music performance; people sit on the terrace outside, enjoy the beautiful sunset and views of Amasra in the night, accompanied by music and some raki.
There are half-hourly mini-bus from nearby Bartin to Amasra. Mini-buses depart from Amasra's town centre, near the junction between the Post Office and the municipal park in the centre. The journey to Bartin takes about 20 minutes.
There are also infrequent bus service (once a day) to Cide from Amasra. The bus departs Amasra from in front of the local Post Office. It takes about 3.5 hours to reach Cide via the scenic and winding coastal route along the Black Sea coast, passing through small villages, lush green slopes, hidden fishing harbours and charming unspolit coves. The road is sometimes very narrow and could get very bumpy at parts. Those who are prone to motion-sickness should take some tablets before trying out this route.
Copyrights@2010. All Rights Reserved. All text and photos by YC Cheng.
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