Amasra

Last update September 24, 2026

The town of Amasra is located on a small peninsula projecting into the Black Sea and is divided by a narrow band of rock into two harbours. It is this arrangement which causes the photographs of the town to appear almost unreal in their neatness: there is water on either side, with boats drifting in two bays and pine-covered hills lying behind the red-tiled roofs. The old town is still surrounded by walls built by the Byzantines and the Genoese, a testament to the number of empires that have passed through the area before it became a peaceful fishing town.

It’s possible to stroll around the entire old town within a few hours. If you cross the footbridge to Boztepe, the small island covered with pines that lies off the peninsula, you can follow the paths to get views stretching back across the harbor. The Fatih Mosque, which was originally a Byzantine church, is situated near the centre and will take ten minutes to explore properly. The streets by the harbour are full of shops that sell boxwood carvings, a craft which the local people have carried on for generations, and it’s worthwhile to take a small piece even if you aren’t typically someone who buys souvenirs.

You can eat fish at this place, particularly hamsi, which is the small Black Sea anchovy and is served fried, grilled, or baked into cornbread according to the cook. Choose a restaurant situated directly on the harbor, order the daily catch together with bread and a simple salad, and you’ll pay less than you would on the Aegean coast for food that is just as fresh, if not fresher, since some of it is served straight from the boats that you can see from your table.

Most travelers take Amasra as a weekend destination when they are going from Istanbul or Ankara rather than viewing it as a point along a longer coastal journey, since the town is rather isolated along the western Black Sea and there is little else around it to link it with. This isolation is an advantage. Although the town gets a small number of visitors on weekends, during the rest of the week it returns to its own routine, and that routine is actually the main reason for coming to Amasra.