Bafra | |
|---|---|
 Atatürk Bulvar in Bafra | |
 Map showing Bafra District in Samsun Province | |
  Bafra Location in Turkey | |
| Coordinates:41°34′20″N35°54′53″E / 41.57222°N 35.91472°E /41.57222; 35.91472 | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Samsun |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Hamit Kılıç (AKP) |
Area | 1,503 km2 (580 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[1] | 143,109 |
| • Density | 95/km2 (250/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Postal code | 55400 |
| Area code | 0362 |
| Climate | Csa |
| Website | www |
Bafra is a municipality anddistrict ofSamsun Province,Turkey.[2] Covering about 1,500 km2,[3] and with over 140,000 inhabitants[1] it is a settlement located 20 kilometres (12 mi) from theBlack Sea, in the fertileKızılırmak Delta. The Bafra Plain is famous inTurkey 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 ofSamsun and is connected byState road D.010.
The name of the municipality is thought to have come from thePhoenician name "bafira" or "bavra".[4][5] Other beliefs about the etymology of the region come from the name "Ba-Hura" (Great River) given toKizilirmak which generates the delta upon which the city is located. Historical records of human settlement in Bafra and theKizilirmak delta date to as early as 5000 BC.[6] Researchers working at the nearby İkiztepe ruins have found traces of human settlement belonging to theChalcolithic 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 theBronze Age (3000-2000 BC) and Early Hittite (1900-1800 BC) period. Researchers found that an early capital existed inHattusa,Anatolia and later moved to theKizilirmak Valley. The region was known asPaphlagonia as of 670 BC.6th century BC,Persians invaded the region in546 BC and captured it from theLydians. Graves from theHellenistic period (330-30 BC) exist at İkiztepe.[citation needed]
The region came under the rule of theRome who renamed the areaGadilon and later Helega. After theFall of the Western Roman Empire, the area became part of theByzantine Empire. The region was a part of theByzantine Empire until theBattle of Manzikert in 1071. After that battle, Bafra was captured by the AnatolianSeljuk RulerKaykaus I. After being conquered by theSeljuk Empire the region was repopulated by members of various Turkmen tribes. The invasion of theMongol Empire began in 1243 and led to the collapse ofSeljuk 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 theOttoman Empire.[7][need quotation to verify]
Under theOttoman Empire, the town of Bafra was incorporated intoTrabzon Province under the leadership of Canik Sanjak. The region flourished as an agricultural, fishing and shipping center under theOttoman Empire. The exact date of the establishment of the modern town is not known, though according to historical census records it appears in 1854.[8][9] Many Turks came to Bafra from theCrimean Khanate after the loss ofCrimea to theRussian Empire in 1783. These refugees largely settled in Bafra due to its location on theBlack Sea. According to the Ottoman census of 1893, the population of Bafra was 62,782. The 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 fromWestern Thrace. Fortunes for theOttoman 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 theTurkish War of Independence, the Greek population of the region founded the Mavri Mira Society and considered the establishment of aPontic governate to fortify their interests. However, with the start of theNational 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.[10][page needed]
Refugees from the formerOttoman 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 ofPomak people. Some ofPomak people continue to live in a traditional manner in the rural portions of Bafta. After theFirst Balkan War, a large population ofAlbanian immigrants fromKosovo 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.[citation needed]
Bafra is located in the western portion ofSamsun Province. The city is 52 km northwest ofSamsun City Center and neighboringAtakum. The town directly to the east of Bafra isOndokuzmayıs, the northern edge of the city is bounded by theBlack Sea, to the west is Alçam and to the southKavak,Havza andVezirköprü.[citation needed]
Bafra sits in the Bafra Plain which is set in the Kızılırmak delta. To the south of the city are theKüre Mountains. The highest of these nearby mountains is Mount Nebiyan with an elevation of 1224 m. The Küre Mountains are the extensions of theCanik 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 theBlack Sea north of Bafra. The rainy season in the region is between April and July during which floods are a common occurrence.[citation needed]
There are 139neighbourhoods in Bafra District:[11]
Bafra experiences ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen:Csa),[12] with very warm, moderately dry summers, and cool, rainy, sporadically snowy winters.[13]
| Climate data for Bafra (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.1 (48.4) | 10.0 (50.0) | 12.4 (54.3) | 15.9 (60.6) | 20.5 (68.9) | 25.2 (77.4) | 27.8 (82.0) | 28.2 (82.8) | 24.6 (76.3) | 20.4 (68.7) | 15.7 (60.3) | 11.2 (52.2) | 18.5 (65.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) | 6.2 (43.2) | 8.0 (46.4) | 11.1 (52.0) | 15.7 (60.3) | 20.5 (68.9) | 23.3 (73.9) | 23.7 (74.7) | 20.0 (68.0) | 16.1 (61.0) | 11.6 (52.9) | 8.0 (46.4) | 14.2 (57.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.6 (38.5) | 3.3 (37.9) | 4.7 (40.5) | 7.6 (45.7) | 12.0 (53.6) | 16.4 (61.5) | 19.1 (66.4) | 19.8 (67.6) | 16.3 (61.3) | 12.8 (55.0) | 8.6 (47.5) | 5.6 (42.1) | 10.9 (51.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 77.22 (3.04) | 58.42 (2.30) | 61.27 (2.41) | 51.1 (2.01) | 47.22 (1.86) | 42.43 (1.67) | 28.74 (1.13) | 45.07 (1.77) | 58.6 (2.31) | 85.04 (3.35) | 82.49 (3.25) | 105.4 (4.15) | 743.0 (29.25) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 10.5 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 8.1 | 6.9 | 5.8 | 3.5 | 4.9 | 6.3 | 8.5 | 8.2 | 10.7 | 92.0 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 75.3 | 76.9 | 79.1 | 80.5 | 81.3 | 77.4 | 75.1 | 75.9 | 78.2 | 80.2 | 75.2 | 73.6 | 77.4 |
| Source:NOAA[14] | |||||||||||||
The mayor of Bafra is Hamit Kiliç from theJustice and Development Party (AKP). Bafra is considered a stronghold of the party and consistently supports the candidacy ofRecep Tayyip Erdoğan for Prime Minister and President. In 2018, 51.8% of voters in Bafra cast ballots for the AKP.[15][unreliable source?] This figure declined however from a peak performance in 2015 when 61.9% of residents voted for the AKP.
 | This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: economy now?. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2024) |
Bafra's economy has historically been driven by the growth and export oftobacco. The region's tobacco is known to be very lownicotine, small, red, light red colored, fine-grained, fine-grained, elastic, high-smoked, sweet, and aromatic. Foreigncigarette 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.[16] 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 ofTEKEL. Today tobacco production in the region is negligible with most former farms now growing other products.[17]
Regional crafts such ascarpet and rug knitting have continued to hold an important place in the life of residents of Bafra. Rug weaving,wicker and zembell knitting and other handicrafts made by residents play a part in the region's economy and touristic appeal.[20]
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