Amasra
Amasra (pop. 7000; from Greek Amastris Ἄμαστρις, gen. Ἀμάστριδος) is a small Black Sea port town in the Bartın Province, Turkey. The town is today much appreciated for its beaches and natural setting, which has made tourism the most important activity for its inhabitants. The mayor is Emin Timur (CHP).
Amasra has two islands: the bigger one is called Büyük ada (Great Island) while the smaller one is called Tavşan adası (Rabbit Island).
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[edit] History
Situated in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, the original city seems to have been called Sesamus (Greek: Σήσαμος), and it is mentioned by Homer[1] in conjunction with Cytorus. Stephanus[2] says that it was originally called Cromna; but in another place,[3] where he repeats the statement, he adds, as it is said; but some say that Cromna is a small place in the territory of Amastris, which is the true account. The place derived its name Amastris from Amastris, the niece of the last Persian king Darius III, who was the wife of Dionysius, tyrant of Heraclea, and after his death the wife of Lysimachus. Four small Ionian colonies, Sesamus, Cytorus, Cromna, also mentioned in the Iliad,[4] and Tium, were combined by Amastris, after her separation from Lysimachus,[5] to form the new community of Amastris, placed on a small river of the same name and occupying a peninsula.[6] Tium, says Strabo, soon detached itself from the community, but the rest kept together, and Sesamus was the acropolis of Amastris. From this it appears that Amastris was really a confederation or union of three places, and that Sesamus was the name of the city on the peninsula. This may explain the fact that Mela[7] mentions Sesamus and Cromna as cities of Paphlagonia, and does not mention Amastris.[8]
The territory of Amastris produced a great quantity of boxwood, which grew on Mount Cytorus. Its tyrant Eumenes presented the city of Amastris to Ariobarzanes of Pontus in c. 265–260 BC rather than submit it to domination by Heraclea, and it remained in the Pontic kingdom until its capture by Lucius Lucullus in 70 BC in the second Mithridatic War.[9] The younger Pliny, when he was governor of Bithynia and Pontus, describes Amastris, in a letter to Trajan,[10] as a handsome city, with a very long open place (platea), on one side of which extended what was called a river, but in fact was a filthy, pestilent, open drain. Pliny obtained the emperor's permission to cover over this sewer. On a coin of the time of Trajan, Amastris has the title Metropolis. It continued to be a town of some note to the seventh century of our era.
The city was not abandoned in Byzantine Era, when the acropolis was transformed into a fortress and the still surviving church was built. It was sacked by the Rus during the First Russo-Byzantine War in the 830s. But it was in 1261 that Amastris regained part of its former importance; in that year the town was taken by the Italian city-state of Genoa in its bid to obtain sole control of the Black Sea trade. Genoese domination ended in 1460 when the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II conquered the whole Anatolian shores of the Black Sea.
[edit] Features
With its rich architectural heritage, Amasra is a member of the Norwich-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions [1].
[edit] Amasra Castle
Amasra Castle was built during the Roman period. The walls of the castle were built by the Byzantines. The front walls and gates were built by the Genoese in the 14th and 15th centuries.[11] Though located on a narrow peninsula, a tunnel under the castle leads to a fresh water pool.
[edit] Church Mosque
Built as a Byzantine church in the 9th century AD. The church is a small chapel and its narthex section consists of three parts. After Fatih Sultan Mehmet conquered Amasra in 1460, it was converted to a mosque. The church mosque was closed to prayer in 1930.[11]
[edit] Bird's Rock Road Monument
Bird's Rock Road Monument was created between 41-54AD by order of Gaius Julius Aguilla. It was a resting place and monument. At the time when Tiberius Germanicus Claudius was Rome's emperor, Aguilla was the commander of the building army in the eastern provinces.[11] It is located a little outside Amasra on the road in, it is easily accessed by steps leading from the roadside.
[edit] Power Station
In 2009 a coal fired power station of 2640 MWe (or 1200MWe) was proposed.[12] It will have a super critical boiler, will utilise a nearby bituminous coal mine and is to be seawater cooled. An application has been made to acquire 49-year long-term concession rights for exploitation of local bituminous proven coal reserves of approximately 573 million metric tons.[13] Concerns have been raised about the effect on air quality [14], marine ecology [15] and ash [16]
[edit] References
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Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (July 2010) |
- "Amastris" from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)
[edit] Notes
- "Amastris" from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)
- Richard Stillwell, William L. MacDonald, Marian Holland McAllister (editors); The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, "Amastris", Princeton, (1976)
- Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, "Amastris", London, (1854)
[edit] Notes
- ^ Homer, Iliad, ii. 853
- ^ Stephanus, Ethnica, s.v. "Amastris"
- ^ Ibid., s.v. "Cromna"
- ^ Homer, ii. 855
- ^ Memnon, History of Heraclea, 5, 9
- ^ Strabo, Geography, xii. 3
- ^ Pomponius Mela, De chorographia, i. 93
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Natural History, vi. 2
- ^ Appian, The Foreign Wars, "The Mithridatic Wars", 82
- ^ Pliny the Younger, Letters, x. 99
- ^ a b c Local signage
- ^ http://www.hemaenerji.com/en/home/about_company.asp
- ^ http://www.turkishweekly.net/columnist/3261/new-thermal-power-plant-investment-in-amasra-county-of-bartin-province.html
- ^ http://energynewsletterturkey.blogspot.com/2010/04/on-amasra-new-thermal-power-plant.html
- ^ http://energynewsletterturkey.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-thermal-power-plant-investment.html
- ^ http://www.amasra.biz/haber/221-haberler-amasra39yi-seviyorumtermik-santral-istemiyorum.html
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed (1854–57). "article name needed". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
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