An Atatürk house museum in the northern city of Samsun continues to preserve the communications history of the Turkish War of Independence, more than a century after the modern Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk used the building as his headquarters during the early days of the national resistance movement.
After arriving in Samsun on May 19, 1919 — a date regarded as the beginning of Türkiye’s War of Independence — Atatürk traveled to Samsun’s Havza district on May 25. He stayed at the Mesudiye Hotel, which today serves as the Havza Atatürk House Museum.
The museum highlights Havza’s strategic role in wartime communications.
While telegraph services in Samsun were under British control at the time, Havza’s telegraph office operated freely, allowing Atatürk to communicate securely with military commanders across Anatolia, close associates and the Ottoman government in Istanbul.
Among the museum’s exhibits are a wax statue of Atatürk in his study room, handwritten documents and the original telegraph manipulator device used to transmit the Havza Circular — a declaration calling for nationwide resistance against occupation forces.
The museum also includes Atatürk’s bedroom and displays the presidential flag he later gifted to the people of Havza. Informational panels throughout the building explain the town’s importance during the struggle for independence.
Professor Kaya Tuncer Çağlayan from Ondokuz Mayıs University said Havza played a unique role in the organization of the resistance movement because of its unrestricted telegraph station.
“Mustafa Kemal stayed only six days in Samsun but remained 18 days in Havza. The main reason was the free telegraph network,” Çağlayan said, noting that telegraph technology represented the most advanced form of communication at the time.
