Ataturk Park is a small green space with one big reason to stop: the Statue of Honor, Samsun's best-known monument to Ataturk's landing. The rider is heroic, formal, and exactly as emphatic as you would expect in the city that claims the opening scene of the War of Independence.
It will not take long, but it belongs in the same walk as the Gazi Museum and the waterfront. The monument is also a good reminder that Samsun is not just a Black Sea port; it is one of the symbolic starting points of the Turkish republic.