Amasra

Overview

On the wooded Black Sea coast, an old walled town faces a small island across a bridge. Old walls run along its rocks, colored houses climb inside them, and a stone bridge leaps across to a green island. A medieval writer called this town the Eye of Paphlagonia. Today it is Amasra, a harbor town on the Turkish Black Sea.

The Story of Amasra

Long ago, Homer already knew a town here called Sesamus. Then, around 300 BC, a remarkable woman named Amastris, a niece of the last Persian king and the wife of two rulers in turn, joined four small Greek towns into one city. So it took her name, and Amastris slowly became Amasra.

Boxwood and a Roman sewer

First of all, the mountains behind the town gave fine boxwood, prized in antiquity. Under Rome, Pliny the Younger, governor of the province, wrote to Emperor Trajan about Amastris. The city had a long, handsome square. However, along one side ran a so-called river that was really a filthy open drain. In the end, Trajan let him cover it.

Byzantines and Genoese

Later, in Byzantine times, the old acropolis became a fortress, and the town grew rich on trade. In 1261, the Republic of Genoa took it over for its Black Sea commerce, and Genoese coats of arms still mark the walls. Sultan Mehmed II brought Amasra into the Ottoman Empire.

What to See in Amasra

The castle quarter

First, walk through the gates into the castle quarter, where people still live inside the walls. Look for the carved coats of arms of the Genoese, and for the restored Byzantine chapel in the area called Zindan.

The Fatih Mosque

Next, find the Fatih Mosque. It began as a Byzantine church in the 9th century, and after the Ottoman conquest it became a mosque in 1460.

The Kemere Bridge and Boztepe

Then cross the Kemere Bridge, the old bridge that links the town to Boztepe. Climb Boztepe, the island crowned by the Sormagir Castle, for a view back over the town. From Safranbolu, our Amasra day trip adds the castle, the museum and lunch by the sea.

Wood Carvers and Amasra Salad

In the Çekiciler Çarşısı, the market of the wood carvers, craftsmen turn the timber of the Black Sea forests into spoons, trays, bowls and spice boxes. The craft is called çekicilik, and for this reason the market bears its name. So take home a wooden spoon.

Finally, in the evening, sit down by the harbor for grilled fish and an Amasra salad, a crunchy mix of greens, tomato, cucumber, radish and pickled red cabbage with a sour dressing.

How to Visit Amasra

Amasra lies in Bartın Province on the western Black Sea coast.

Also, combine it with the Ottoman wooden houses of Safranbolu, and for the whole coast, see our guide to the Black Sea.