Atatürk’s Project of Introducing Turkey to Europe by Ferryboat

The year is 1925, 2 years after the proclamation of the republic, Europe still thought we were ‘sick Ottomans’. Because at that time, they were unaware of this because mass media such as the internet and telephone were not widespread. As such, those who want this situation to change Ataturk, To show the world the legal and cultural change as well as the political change in Turkey designed a project.

The project, which remained on the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly throughout 1925, but was thought to cause financial difficulties for a newly established country, was shelved without any results. Despite this, one of the people who think that the project is necessary, Trade Minister Ali Cenani Bey, with great effort, had the project accepted in 1926. With a higher budget than the original.

Accordingly, the parliament decided to allocate one hundred thousand liras for the expenses of the ferry.

The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce also donated five hundred thousand liras for the expenses of the ferry. After the cost problem was solved somehow, it was time to prepare the ferry. By March 1926 The Black Sea Ferry was towed to the Golden Horn shipyard and the preparations began.

The black body of the ferry was painted white. Two halls were prepared for the exhibition and sale of the products. After three months of preparations, the ferry started its 3-month journey from Istanbul on 12 June 1926 with a ceremony.

The plan was: The Black Sea would travel to 12 European countries for about 3 months and introduce Turkey to the West.

Based on this, the ferry’s exhibition halls were specially prepared. Kütahya tiles, Hacı Bekir Turkish Delights, Bursa Hereke fabrics and carpets, Beykoz Factory goods, monopoly products, ornaments made with amber and precious stones. many products were in the exhibition. Each one was meticulously prepared. It was a floating fair.

on each of the products information labels written in four languages placed. There was an oil painting of Gazi Mustafa Kemal in the main corner of the hall. Also on the ferry was the Presidential Orchestra led by Zeki Üngör, the composer of the National Anthem.

The people on the ferry were carefully selected.

Person responsible for the management of the ship, Lütfü Kaptan was the captain of the first passenger ferry to cross the Atlantic.. In addition to the people of politics, culture, art and master musicians, there were also citizens who knew foreign languages ​​among the people on the ferry.

The ferry started its journey from Istanbul on 12 June 1926 with a total of 285 people. The first place he visited was Mudanya.. Before the ferry left the country, the architect of the project, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, got on board and ate lunch.

After dinner, Atatürk visited the exhibition on the ferry and wrote the following in his diary: The exhibition is a successful work. It made very good impressions on me. Presentation style is very good. I appreciate and congratulate the creator.

Then the ship started its journey in full sense.

The route was clear and 12 countries to visit in 3 months. First, an anchor was laid in the Bona Port of Algeria in order to buy coal. Even if there was a short pause, the people here were very interested in the ferry.

After buying coal from Algeria, the Black Sea Ferry, Barcelona, ​​Le Havre, London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Stockholm, Helsinki, Leningrad, Danzig, Gdynia, Copenhagen, Antwerp, Marseille, Genoa, Naples. visited the major cities of the world.

The ferry was showing the modern face of the newly established Republic of Turkey to the world as well as Turkish culture at every port it visited.

A great interest was shown in each port and the concerts and balls were covered in the press of the countries. The journey took exactly 86 days and 22 hours..

so-called mobile exhibition Approximately 65 thousand people visited the Black Sea Ferry. The goal was achieved, many countries were now aware of the modern Turkish Republic. On September 5, 1926, the ferry returned to Istanbul and successfully completed its mission.

A special logo was prepared for the Black Sea Ferry. As you can see above, the logo is the one that moves away from the Istanbul coast. Hermes, the goddess of news, walking in front of the Black Sea Ferryr. The striking point of the logo was the emblem of the Seyr-i Sefain administration (today the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs) in place of Hermes’ staff.

So, what happened to the ferry afterwards?

The Black Sea Ferry has been used for passenger and freight transportation in our seas for years. The ferry, which was anchored in the port after 46 years, was scrapped in 1954 and taken to Italy. broken into pieces.

You can watch the documentary Seyr-i Türkiye to get more detailed information about the Black Sea Ferry.