The Bandirma Ship Museum is Samsun's essential stop. The vessel is a full-scale replica, but the story it tells is real enough: Mustafa Kemal Pasha sailed to Samsun in May 1919 and began the political and military movement that led to modern Turkey.
The museum is modest and not always generous with English, so it helps to know the outline before you go. Even so, standing on the ship makes the national myth feel surprisingly physical: a small ferry, a Black Sea port, and a moment that later became a public holiday.