1994 Turkish local elections
Mayors of metropolitan municipalities
Table:
Metropolitan
municipality
Mayor
Party

Adana
Aytaç Durak
Motherland Party (ANAP)

Ankara
Melih Gökçek
Welfare Party (RP)

Antalya
Hasan Subaşı
True Path Party (DYP)

Bursa
Erdem Saker
Motherland Party (ANAP)

Diyarbakır
Ahmet Bilgin
Welfare Party (RP)

Erzurum
Ersan Gemalmaz
Welfare Party (RP)

Eskişehir
Aydın Arat
True Path Party (DYP)

Gaziantep
Celal Doğan
Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP)

İstanbul
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Welfare Party (RP)

İzmir
Burhan Özfatura
True Path Party (DYP)

Kayseri
Şükrü Karatepe
Welfare Party (RP)

Kocaeli
Sefa Sirmen
Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP)

Konya
Halil Ürün
Welfare Party (RP)

Mersin
Okan Merzeci
Motherland Party (ANAP)

Samsun
Muzaffer Önder
Republican People's Party (CHP)

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Adana ( pronounced [ aˈda.na ] ; Armenian : Ադանա ; Ancient Greek : Άδανα , Arabic : أضنة ) is a major city in southern Turkey . The city is situated on the Seyhan river , 35 km ( 22 mi ) inland from the Mediterranean , in south-central Anatolia . It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province and has a population of 1.77 million , making it the 5th most populated city in Turkey . The Adana-Mersin polycentric metropolitan area , with a population of 3 million , stretches over 70 km ( 43 mi ) east-west and 25 km ( 16 mi ) north-south ; encompassing the cities of Mersin , Tarsus and Adana . Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia , a geo-cultural region locally known as Çukurova . Home to six million people , Cilicia is one of the largest population concentrations in Turkey , as well as the most agriculturally productive area , owing to its large stretch of flat , fertile land . The region includes the provinces of Mersin , Adana , Osmaniye and Hatay .
Aytaç Durak ( born 1938 in Karaisalı , Adana ) is a Turkish politician , and has been the mayor of Adana since 1984 , excluding one term ( 1989-1994 ) . He is the longest serving locally elected city mayor in Turkey , currently at his 5th term . Adding his 17 years as a municipal councillor , he will have served the municipality of Adana for 42 years by the end of this term . He was the president of the Municipalities Union of Turkey for 17 years and the Çukurova Municipalities Union for 12 years . Aytaç Durak is the only politician to have run in all the municipal elections since 1973 ; twice as councillor , six times as mayoral candidate , losing only once in the 1989 mayoral race . He is regarded as the doyen of Turkey 's local politics .
The Motherland Party , ( Turkish : Anavatan Partisi , abbreviated as ANAVATAN , formerly ANAP ) is a political party in Turkey . It was founded in 1983 by Turgut Özal . It merged with the Democratic Party in October 2009 , but in September 2011 , the party was re-established . Its president is İbrahim Çelebi . The ANAP was considered a centre-right neoliberal , secular nationalist party that supported restrictions on the role that government can play in the economy and also supported private capital and enterprise and some public expressions of religion . The 1983 Turkish general election , was won by the new Motherland Party , led by Özal . Although the party was composed of a potentially disruptive [ dubious - discuss ] mixture of Islamic revivalist [ clarification needed ] and secular liberals , he was able to form a majority government , and briefly , democracy was restored .
Ankara ( /ˈæŋkərə/ , also US : /ˈɑːŋ-/ , Turkish : [ ˈaŋkaɾa ] ( listen ) ) , historically known as Ancyra ( /ænˈsaɪrə/ ) and Angora ( /æŋˈɡɔːrə/ , also US : /ˈæŋɡərə/ ) , is the capital of Turkey . With a population of 4,587,558 in the urban centre ( 2014 ) and 5,150,072 in its province ( 2015 ) , it is Turkey 's second largest city after Istanbul ( the former imperial capital ) , having outranked İzmir in the 20th century . Ankara covers an area of 24,521 km2 ( 9,468 sq mi ) . On 23 April 1920 the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was established in Ankara , which became the headquarters of Atatürk and the Turkish National Movement during the Turkish War of Independence . Ankara became the new Turkish capital upon the establishment of the Republic on 29 October 1923 , succeeding in this role the former Turkish capital Istanbul ( Constantinople ) following the fall of the Ottoman Empire . The government is a prominent employer , but Ankara is also an important commercial and industrial city , located at the centre of Turkey 's road and railway networks . The city gave its name to the Angora wool shorn from Angora rabbits , the long-haired Angora goat ( the source of mohair ) , and the Angora cat . The area is also known for its pears , honey and muscat grapes . Although situated in one of the driest places of Turkey and surrounded mostly by steppe vegetation except for the forested areas on the southern periphery , Ankara can be considered a green city in terms of green areas per inhabitant , at 72 square metres ( 775 square feet ) per head . Ankara is a very old city with various Hittite , Phrygian , Hellenistic , Roman , Byzantine , and Ottoman archaeological sites . The historical centre of town is a rocky hill rising 150 m ( 500 ft ) over the left bank of the Ankara Çayı , a tributary of the Sakarya River , the classical Sangarius . The hill remains crowned by the ruins of the old citadel .
İbrahim Melih Gökçek ( born 20 October 1948 ) is a Turkish politician who served as the Mayor of Ankara from 1994 to 2017 . From 1991 to 1994 , he was an MP . Gökçek has won municipal elections in 1994 , 1999 , 2004 , 2009 , and was controversially also declared the winner in 2014 . He is a member of the governing Justice and Development Party .
The Welfare Party ( Turkish : Refah Partisi , RP ) was an Islamist political party in Turkey . It was founded by Ali Türkmen , Ahmet Tekdal , and Necmettin Erbakan in Ankara in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties , National Order Party ( MNP ) and National Salvation Party ( MSP ) , which were banned from politics . The RP participated in mayoral elections at that time and won in three cities Konya , Şanlıurfa , and Van . Their vote percentage was approximately 5% . The Welfare Party participated in the 1991 elections in a triple alliance with the Nationalist Movement Party ( MHP ) and the Reformist Democracy Party ( IDP ) . They gained 16.9% of the vote . They won 62 deputies to parliament , but 19 deputies of MHP ( with founding Democratic Movement Party in 25 December 1991 and joining the MÇP in 29 December 1991 ) and 3 of IDP left the Welfare Party after the election . Their popular vote increased over the years until they became the largest party under Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan in 1996 . The coalition government of Erbakan was forced out of power by the Turkish military in 1997 , due to being suspected of having an Islamist agenda . In 1998 , the Welfare Party was banned from politics by the Constitutional Court of Turkey for violating the separation of religion and state . The ban was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights ( ECtHR ) on 13 February 2003 . The ECtHR 's decision was criticized by Human Rights Watch for lack of consistency , as the ECtHR had refused disbanding of other parties on several occasions , but the ECtHR defended its decision .
Antalya ( Turkish pronunciation : [ anˈtalja ] ) is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province . Located on Anatolia 's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains , Antalya is the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast with over one million people in its metropolitan area . The city that is now Antalya was first settled around 200 BC by the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon , which was soon subdued by the Romans . Roman rule saw Antalya thrive , including the construction of several new monuments , such as Hadrian 's Gate , and the proliferation of neighboring cities . The city has changed hands several times , including to the Seljuk Sultanate in 1207 and an expanding Ottoman Empire in 1391 . Ottoman rule brought relative peace and stability for the next five hundred years . The city was transferred to Italian suzerainty in the aftermath of World War I , but was recaptured by a newly independent Turkey in the War of Independence . Antalya is Turkey 's biggest international sea resort , located on the Turkish Riviera . Large-scale development and governmental funding has promoted tourism . A record 12.5 million tourists passed through the city in 2014 .
The True Path Party ( Turkish : Doğru Yol Partisi , DYP ) was a centre-right political party in Turkey , active from 1983 to 2007 . For most of its history , the party 's central figure was Süleyman Demirel , a former Prime Minister of Turkey who had previously led the Justice Party ( AP ) , before it was shut down in the aftermath of the 1980 military coup . The DYP was widely considered the successor of both the AP and the Democratic Party ( DP ) , active in Turkey 's early multi-party period . The DYP was the main opposition party in the Grand National Assembly from 1987 to 1991 . Later , the party won power in the 1991 general election , after having emerged as the largest party . Demirel subsequently returned to the premiership in the period from 1991 to 1993 , before securing the Presidency of Turkey that year . Subsequently , both the DYP leadership and the premiership passed to Tansu Çiller , another prominent member of the party . Çiller was the first female Prime Minister of Turkey , and served until 1996 . After then serving as a junior partner in several coalition governments , the party was wiped out of parliament in the 2002 general election , failing to pass the 10% electoral threshold required to win seats . While the party proved able to maintain a presence in local politics after its 2002 wipeout from parliament , the DYP appeared likely to again fail to enter parliament in the 2007 election . In response , the leadership of the DYP and that of the conservative Motherland Party ( ANAP ) announced their intention to merge under the name of the former Democratic Party ( DP ) . Ultimately , the ANAP pulled out of the merger , though the True Path Party went through with the rebranding , and transformed into the new Democratic Party ( DP ) in May 2007 .
Bursa is a large city in Turkey , located in northwestern Anatolia , within the Marmara Region . The fourth most populous city in Turkey and second most populous in Marmara Region , Bursa functions as one of the industrial and trade centres of Turkey ( especially in respect of the automotive industry ) . The city is also the capital of Bursa Province . Bursa ( Ottoman Turkish : بورسا ) was the first major and second overall capital of the Ottoman State between 1335 and 1363 . The city was referred to as Hüdavendigar ( خداوندگار , from the Persian name translated as God 's gift ) during the Ottoman period , while a more recent nickname is Yeşil Bursa ( Green Bursa ) in reference to the parks and gardens located across its urban fabric , as well as to the vast and richly varied forests of the surrounding region . Mount Uludağ , the ancient Mysian Olympus , towers over it , and has a well-known ski resort . Bursa has rather orderly urban growth and borders a fertile plain . The mausoleums of the early Ottoman sultans are located in Bursa , and the city 's main landmarks include numerous edifices built throughout the Ottoman period . Bursa also has thermal baths , old Ottoman mansions , palaces , and several museums . The shadow-play characters Karagöz and Hacivat are based on historic personalities who lived and died in Bursa ( in the 14th century ) . The city is also known for İskender kebap , pideli köfte , cantık , marron glacé and Bursa peaches . Bursa houses the Uludağ University , and its population can claim one of the highest overall levels of education in Turkey .
Diyarbakır ( /diˈjaɾbakɯɾ/ Kurdish : Amed ; Armenian : Դիարբեքիր ) is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey and it is often considered the unofficial capital of Northern Kurdistan . Situated on the banks of the Tigris River , it is the administrative capital of the Diyarbakır Province . It is the third-largest city in Turkey 's Southeastern Anatolia Region , after Şanlıurfa and Gaziantep . It has been a focal point of the conflict between the Turkish state and various Kurdish insurgent groups .
Erzurum is a city in eastern Anatolia ( Asian Turkey ) . It is the largest city in and eponymous capital of Erzurum Province . It is situated 1757 meters ( 5766 feet ) above sea level . Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census , increasing to 367,250 by 2010 . As Ancient Theodosiopolis in Armenia ( or in Cappadocia ) , the former bishopric remains a Latin Catholic titular see . The city uses the double-headed Anatolian Seljuk Eagle as its coat-of-arms , a motif that was a common symbol throughout Anatolia and the Balkans in the medieval period . Erzurum has some diverse winter sports facilities in Turkey and hosted the 2011 Winter Universiade .
Eskişehir ( US : /ˌɛskɪʃəˈhɪər/ ES-kish-ə-HEER , Turkish : [ esˈciʃehiɾ ] ; from eski old and şehir city ) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province . In the Byzantine era its name was Dorylaeum . The urban population of the city is 717,135 with a metropolitan population of 826,135 . The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River , 792 m above sea level , where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley . In the nearby hills one can find hot springs . The city is 233 km ( 145 mi ) to the west of Ankara , 330 km ( 205 mi ) to the southeast of Istanbul and 78 km ( 48 mi ) to the northeast of Kütahya . Known as a university town , both Eskişehir Osmangazi University and Anadolu University ( which has one of the largest student enrollments in the world ) are based in Eskişehir . The province covers an area of 2,678 km2 ( 1,034 sq mi ) .
Gaziantep ( Turkish pronunciation : [ ɡaːˈziantep ] ) , previously and still informally called Antep ( pronounced [ anˈtep ] ) , is the capital of Gaziantep Province , in the western part of Turkey 's Southeastern Anatolia Region , some 185 kilometres ( 115 mi ) east of Adana and 97 kilometres ( 60 mi ) north of Aleppo , Syria . It is probably located on the site of ancient Antiochia ad Taurum , and is near ancient Zeugma . The city has two urban districts under its administration , Şahinbey and Şehitkamil . It is the sixth-most populous city in Turkey and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world .
The Social Democratic Populist Party ( Turkish : Sosyaldemokrat Halkçı Parti ) was a Turkish social-democratic party , which resulted from the fusion , in 1985 , of the Social Democracy Party ( Sosyal Demokrasi Partisi , SODEP ) of Erdal İnönü and the People 's Party of Aydın Güven Gürkan , both founded in 1983 with the return to democracy after the military coup of 1980 . In the local elections 1989 the SHP emerged as the strongest party with 27.8 percent of the vote , winning government power in 6 metropolitan areas , 39 provinces and 283 districts . The Kurdish question placed the party under serious strain as it had seven MPs of Kurdish origin at a time when use of the Kurdish language was forbidden in public and private life in Turkey . Some of these MPs wanted to take part in the Kurdish Conference in Paris 1989 , to which chairman İnönü wanted to agree . But after it emerged that representatives of the PKK could also take part , participation was forbidden . Seven Kurdish MPs took part anyway and all were expelled from the party , even though the PKK was not present at the congress and in fact protested in front of the congress against it . As a result Aydin Güven Gürkan , 12 other MPs of the SHP , dozens of regional party administrators and 3000 party members resigned from the SHP . Nevertheless the party was one of the first parties to acknowledge that the Kurdish Question was not just an issue of terrorism . In the South Eastern Report published by the party in 1990 the problems of not acknowledging the Kurds as a distinct ethnic group were noticed . It was emphasized the Kurds should be able to express their Kurdish identity and legal barriers prohibiting this should be lifted . After the 1991 general election , the SHP became a partner in the coalition government and İnönü became the deputy prime minister ( Nov. 20 ) . In the coalition agreement , the SHP insisted on the lifting of the ban on pre-1980 parties which were dissolved by the military government of the early 1980s .
Istanbul ( /ˌɪstænˈbʊl/ , also US : /ˈɪstænbʊl/ ; Turkish : İstanbul [ isˈtanbuɫ ] ( listen ) ) , formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the most populous city in Turkey and the country 's economic , cultural and historic center . Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia , straddling the Bosporus strait ( which separates Europe and Asia ) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea . Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives in suburbs on the Asian side of the Bosporus . With a total population of around 15 million residents in its metropolitan area , Istanbul is one of the world 's most populous cities , ranking as the world 's fifth-largest city proper and the largest European city . The city is the administrative center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality ( coterminous with Istanbul Province ) . Founded under the name of Byzantion ( Βυζάντιον ) on the Sarayburnu promontory around 660 BCE , the city grew in size and influence , becoming one of the most important cities in history . After its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 CE , it served as an imperial capital for almost 16 centuries , during the Roman/Byzantine ( 330-1204 ) , Latin ( 1204-1261 ) , Palaiologos Byzantine ( 1261-1453 ) and Ottoman ( 1453-1922 ) empires . It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times , before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 CE and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold and the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate . Under the name Constantinople it was the Ottoman capital until 1923 . The capital was then moved to Ankara and the city was renamed Istanbul . The city held the strategic position between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean . It was also on the historic Silk Road .
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ( UK : /ˈɛərdəwæn/ AIR-də-wan , US : /-wɑːn/ -⁠wahn , Turkish : [ ɾeˈdʒep tajˈjip ˈæɾdoan ] ( listen ) ; born 26 February 1954 ) is the 12th and current president of the Republic of Turkey . He previously served as Prime Minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998 . He founded the Justice and Development Party ( AKP ) in 2001 , leading it to election victories in 2002 , 2007 and 2011 before standing down upon his election as President in 2014 . He later returned to the AKP leadership in 2017 . Coming from an Islamist political background and as a self-described conservative democrat , he has promoted socially conservative and liberal economic policies in his administration . Erdoğan played football for Kasımpaşa before being elected as the Mayor of Istanbul in 1994 , as the candidate of the Islamist Welfare Party . He was later stripped of his position , banned from political office , and imprisoned for four months for inciting religious hatred . Erdoğan subsequently abandoned openly Islamist politics , establishing the moderate conservative AKP in 2001 , which he went on to lead to a landslide victory in 2002 . With Erdoğan still technically prohibited from holding office , the AKP 's co-founder , Abdullah Gül , instead became Prime Minister , and later annulled Erdoğan 's political ban . After winning a by-election in Siirt in 2003 , Erdoğan replaced Gül as Prime Minister , with Gül instead becoming the AKP 's candidate for the presidency . Erdoğan led the AKP to two more election victories in 2007 and 2011 , before being elected President in 2014 , and re-elected in 2018 . The early years of Erdoğan 's tenure as prime minister saw advances in negotiations for Turkey 's membership of the European Union , an economic recovery following a financial crash in 2001 and investments in infrastructure including roads , airports , and a high-speed train network .
İzmir ( UK : /ˈɪzmɪər/ IZ-meer , US : /ɪzˈmɪər/ iz-MEER , Turkish : [ ˈizmiɾ ] ) , often spelled Izmir in English , is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia . It is the third most populous city in Turkey , after Istanbul and Ankara , and the second largest urban agglomeration on the Aegean Sea after Athens , Greece . In 2019 , the city of İzmir had a population of 2,972,900 , while İzmir Province had a total population of 4,367,251 . İzmir 's metropolitan area extends along the outlying waters of the Gulf of İzmir and inland to the north across the Gediz River delta ; to the east along an alluvial plain created by several small streams ; and to slightly more rugged terrain in the south . In classical antiquity the city was known as Smyrna ( /ˈsmɜːrnə/ SMUR-nə ) - a name which remained in use in English and various other languages until around 1930 , when government efforts led the original Greek name to be gradually phased out internationally in favor of its Turkish counterpart İzmir . However , the historic name Smyrna is still used today in some languages , such as Greek ( Σμύρνη , Smýrni/Smýrnē ) , Armenian ( Զմյուռնիա , Zmyurnia ) , Italian ( Smirne ) , and Catalan , Portuguese , and Spanish ( Esmirna ) . Smyrna has more than 3,000 years of recorded urban history , and up to 8,500 years of history as a human settlement since the Neolithic period . Lying on an advantageous location at the head of a gulf running down in a deep indentation , midway along the western Anatolian coast , it has been one of the principal mercantile cities of the Mediterranean Sea for much of its history . İzmir hosted the Mediterranean Games in 1971 and the World University Games ( Universiade ) in 2005 . The city participated in Climathon in 2019 . The city of İzmir is composed of several metropolitan districts . Of these , the district of Konak corresponds to historical İzmir , with this district 's area having constituted the city 's central İzmir Municipality ( Turkish : İzmir Belediyesi ) until 1984 .
Kayseri ( Turkish pronunciation : [ ˈkajseɾi ] ) is a large industrialised city in Central Anatolia , Turkey . It is the seat of Kayseri Province . The city of Kayseri , as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality , is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts , the two core districts of Kocasinan and Melikgazi , and since 2004 , also Hacılar , İncesu and Talas . Kayseri is located at the foot of the extinct volcano Mount Erciyes that towers 3,916 metres ( 12,848 feet ) over the city . The city is often cited in the first ranks among Turkey 's cities that fit the definition of Anatolian Tigers . The city retains a number of historical monuments , including several from the Seljuk period . While it is generally visited en route to the international tourist attractions of Cappadocia , Kayseri has many attractions in its own right : Seljuk and Ottoman era monuments in and around the city centre , Mount Erciyes as a trekking and alpinism centre , Zamantı River as a rafting centre , and the historic sites of Kültepe , Ağırnas , Talas and Develi . Kayseri is served by Erkilet International Airport and is home to Erciyes University . According to the Turkish Statistical Institute , as of 2011 [ update ] the city of Kayseri had a population of 844,656 ; while Kayseri Province had a population of 1,234,651 .
İzmit , known as Nicomedia in antiquity , is a city in Turkey , the administrative center of the Kocaeli Province as well as the Metropolitan Municipality . It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara , about 100 km ( 62 mi ) east of Istanbul , on the northwestern part of Anatolia . The city center has a population of 300,611 ( 2011 census ) . The population of the province ( including rural areas ) is 1,459,772 . Unlike other provinces in Turkey , apart from Istanbul , the whole province is included within the municipality of the metropolitan center . Nicomedia was the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire between 286 and 324 , during the Tetrarchy introduced by Diocletian . Following Constantine the Great 's victory over co-emperor Licinius at the Battle of Chrysopolis in 324 , Nicomedia served as an interim capital city for Nova Roma .
Konya ( Turkish pronunciation : [ ˈkon.ja ] ) is a major city in south-western edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau and is the seventh-most-populous city in Turkey with a metropolitan population of over 2.1 million . Konya is an economically and industrially developed city and the capital of Konya Province . The Konya region has been inhabited since the 3rd millennium BC . Known as Iconium during classical antiquity , the city was ruled successively by the Phrygian , Persian , Hellenistic and Roman civilizations . In the 11th century the Seljuk Turks conquered the area from the Byzantines , and Konya then became the capital of the Sultanate of Rum . Under the Seljuks , the city reached the height of its wealth and influence . Following the demise of Rum , Konya came under the rule of the Karamanids , before being taken over by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century . After the Turkish War of Independence the city became part of the modern Republic of Turkey .
Halil Ürün ( born 3 July 1968 ) is a Turkish politician from the Justice and Development Party ( AKP ) , who has served as a Member of Parliament for Afyonkarahisar since 12 June 2011 . Born in Afyonkarahisar , he graduated from Selçuk University Faculty of Law and became a freelance lawyer . He was a mayoral candidate in both the 1994 and 1999 , an applicant to become an MP in the 2002 general election and also an applicant to become a mayoral candidate in the 2009 local elections . He was elected as an AKP Member of Parliament in the 2011 general election and was re-elected in June 2015 .
Mersin ( pronounced [ ˈmæɾsin ] ) is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey . It is part of an interurban agglomeration - the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area - and lies on the western part of Çukurova , a geographical , economic , and cultural region . The city was named after the aromatic plant Myrsine ( Greek : Μυρσίνη ) in the family Primulaceae , a myrtle that grows in abundance in the area ( Turkish : mersin ) ; the 17th-century traveler Evliya Çelebi wrote that there was also a clan named Mersinoğulları Mersin is an important hub of Turkey 's economy , and Turkey 's largest seaport is located in the city . Mersin 's nickname within Turkey is Pearl of the Mediterranean ( Turkish : Akdeniz'in İncisi ) and the city hosted the 2013 Mediterranean Games . Mersin is the provincial capital of the eponymous Mersin Province of Turkey . As of 2014 , the population of the city is 955,106
Samsun ( Pontic Greek : Σαμψούντα , Sampsúnta ; Ottoman Turkish : صامسون : Ṣāmsūn ) is a city on the north coast of Turkey with a population over half a million people . It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port . The growing city has two universities , several hospitals , shopping malls , much light manufacturing industry , sports facilities and an opera . Mustafa Kemal Atatürk began the Turkish War of Independence here in 1919 .
The Republican People 's Party ( Turkish : Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi [ dʒumhuːɾiˈjet haɫk paɾˈtisi ] , CHP ) is a Kemalist , social-democratic political party in Turkey . It is the oldest political party in the country , and is currently the main opposition in the Grand National Assembly . The CHP describes itself as a modern social democratic party , which is faithful to the founding principles and values of the Republic of Turkey . The party is cited as the founding party of modern Turkey . Its logo consists of the Six Arrows , which represent the foundational principles of Kemalism : republicanism , nationalism , statism , populism , laicism , and reformism . The political party was established during the Sivas Congress in 1919 as a union of resistance groups against the Greek invasion of Anatolia . The union represented Turkish people as a unified front during the Turkish War of Independence ( 1919-1923 ) . On 9 September 1923 , the People 's Party declared itself to be a political organization and on 29 October 1923 , announced the establishment of the Turkish Republic . On 10 November 1924 , the People 's Party renamed itself the Republican People 's Party ( CHP ) as Turkey moved into a one-party period . During the one-party period , the CHP became the major political organisation of a one-party state . However , CHP faced two opposition parties during this period , both established upon the request of CHP leader and founder of Turkey , Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , in efforts to kick-start a multi-party democracy in Turkey . The first one was the Progressive Republican Party established in 1924 by famous generals such as Kazım Karabekir and Ali Fuat Cebesoy , who both served during the Turkish War of Independence , and the second was the Liberal Republican Party founded by Ali Fethi Okyar in 1930 .