7 places to visit in the Bafra district of Samsun: İkiztepe Mound, Kızılırmak Deltası Kuş Cenneti and Bafra Tütün Museum. Plan your trip to Bafra with local food, practical tips and transport information.
Bafra is a district of Samsun province, situated on an alluvial plain deposited by the Kızılırmak, 20 km from the Black Sea. The district covers an area of 1,503 km². Roughly half of Bafra’s population is male and half female.
History
The name of the district is thought to come from the word “bafira” or “bavra”, meaning trading houses, in the time of the Phoenicians. The history of the district goes back to around 5000 BC. Excavations at the İkiztepe settlement have shown that the site was continuously inhabited for 2,300 years, from around 4000 BC to 1700 BC. After the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Bafra passed into the hands of the Seljuks, and Turkmen tribes were settled there in 1214. Bafra came under Ottoman rule in 1460. After the 1876 war, many Turkish migrants arrived in Bafra from Crimea. Migrants to Bafra were settled mainly in villages along the Kızılırmak in the southern part of the town centre.
Geography
The district is bordered to the east by Samsun city centre and Ondokuzmayıs district, to the north by the Black Sea, to the west by Alaçam, and to the south by Kavak, Havza and Vezirköprü districts. The Bafra Plain, which covers the Kızılırmak delta, is enclosed by mountains to the south. The Kızılırmak, the largest river in the district and the longest in Türkiye, passes through these mountains in a deep valley before reaching the plain. Lakes formed where the Kızılırmak meets the sea lie on both banks of the river.
Climate
The prevailing winds in the district vary by season. The average humidity in the district is 73%. Rainfall is heaviest in November and lightest in May.
Economy
The Samsun-Bafra Group comprises tobacco from Samsun, Maden, Canik, Evkaf, Bafra, Alaçam, Çarşamba, Sinop and Gerze. Tobaccos in this group have very low nicotine content, are small, red or light red in colour, and have fine veins.
History and Culture
Bafra district was a kaza (sub-district) attached to the Canik Sanjak in the Ottoman period. In 1214, the Anatolian Seljuk ruler I. İzzeddin Keykavus settled Turkmen tribes in Bafra.
Key Facts
Bafra pide has been registered by the Turkish Patent Institute because of differences in how it is made and served. The habit of eating pide at weekends is a common tradition in Bafra, Çarşamba and Terme.
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