Alaçam
—  Town  —
Skyline of Alaçam
Alaçam Location of Alaçam
Coordinates: 41°36′N 35°35′E / 41.6°N 35.583°E / 41.6; 35.583
Country	Turkey
Region	Black Sea
Province	Samsun
Government
• Mayor	İlyas Acar (MHP)
Population
• Total	12,000
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	55800
Area code(s)	(0090)+ 362
Licence plate	55

Alaçam is a central town of Alaçam district of Samsun Province of Turkey. Scholars believe that Alaçam is the site of the ancient city of Zaliches.^[1]

History[link]

The town has a very old history. The Phrygians, Kimmerians, Egyptians, Lydians and Persians have ruled in Alaçam before Christus.

Miletian Greeks who moved there from Ionia, Western Anatolia, in the 5th century BC had named it Zelicus. Having been conquered later by Byzantians, the town was controlled subsequently by Danishmend, Selchuks and İlhanites and, during the Anatolian principalities era, by Candaroğlu and İsfendiyaroğlu principalities and finally by the Ottoman Empire.

Since 1st September 1944, Alaçam is the eighth sub-prefecture of Samsun Province.

Geography[link]

Alaçam is a pretty coastal town, bordered by the Black Sea in the North, Bafra in the East, Vezirköprü in the South and Yakakent in the West. Located at a distance of 78 kilometres (48 mi) to Samsun, it has a surface area of 632 square kilometres (244 mi²) and an average altitude of 15 metres (50 ft). The coastal strip of Alaçam makes a narrow plain extending in the east-west direction, divided into two by the Uluçay river, the largest stream of this sub-prefecture.

Climate[link]

A typical Black Sea climate prevails in Alaçam where summers are cool and winters are tepid. Highest average temperature is in July with 35 °C (95 °F) and the lowest temperature is in January with an average of −5 °C (27 °F).

Socioeconomic structure[link]

Economy is predominantly agricultural, together with fisheries and animal-raising. Tobacco is the main agricultural for the product, followed by rice, maize, vegetables and fruits. Ovines and bovines are the main animal species raised.

There is an advanced iron-mongery in the rural areas, producing objects for village needs (ploughs, scythes, hatchets, picks, horseshoe nails, etc.).

There is a tobacco processing plant employing around 500 persons.

Transport[link]

Alaçam is on Samsun-Sinop interstate highway and, as such, has no transportation problems. Access becomes somewhat difficult, however, to the villages under adverse weather conditions.

Sightseeing[link]

Sivritepe, Elçitepe, Gökçeboğaztepe and Dedetepe are the known Hittite mounds in Alaçam, and Miletian pottery was found in Sivritepe.

There is a historical castle of unknown origin at the forested and mountainous region south of Alaçam. The Sadi Bey Mosque from 1515, Yenicami Mosque from 1887 and the Geyikkoşan Shrine of unknown date are among the cultural treasuries.

A golden beach for swimming and other sea sports with oak, poplar and laurel trees as a background is situated some two kilometres north of the town.

The Dörtmen plateau at an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) is a beautiful picnic area, accessible by an asphalt-paved road.

The 6th of May celebrations held at Geyikkoşan are highlighted by wrestling bouts and other sports.

Overnighting and meals[link]

Ninety prefabricated municipality-owned quonset huts and a 25-bed hotel at Geyikkoşan, with an overall capacity of 800 persons, serve the summer holidaymakers. Şehir and Yeşilyurt hotels are downtown. There are several seaside restaurants specialised in seafood.

Chicken meat is the favourite ingredient particularly in villages inhabited by people of Circassian descent. Pitas with spiced ground meat and filled tunny are recommended. Local feta cheese varieties are quite famous.

External links[link]

• Alaçam photos
• Alaçam Municipality

References[link]

• Alaçam at GEOnet Names Server

v t e Alaçam in Samsun Province (in the Black Sea region) of Turkey Urban districts Samsun (Atakum - Canik - İlkadım - Tekkeköy) Rural districts Alaçam - Asarcık - Ayvacık - Bafra - Çarşamba - Havza - Kavak - Ladik (District), Samsun - Ondokuz Mayıs - Salıpazarı - Terme - Vezirköprü - Yakakent Regions Provinces Aegean Afyonkarahisar - Aydın - Denizli - Izmir - Kütahya - Manisa - Muğla - Uşak Black Sea Amasya - Artvin - Bartın - Bayburt - Bolu - Çorum - Düzce - Giresun - Gümüşhane - Karabük - Kastamonu - Ordu - Rize - Samsun - Sinop - Tokat - Trabzon - Zonguldak Central Anatolia Aksaray - Ankara - Çankırı - Eskişehir - Karaman - Kayseri - Kırıkkale - Kırşehir - Konya - Nevşehir - Niğde - Sivas - Yozgat Eastern Anatolia Ağrı - Ardahan -Bingöl - Bitlis - Elâzığ - Erzincan - Erzurum - Hakkâri - Iğdır - Kars - Malatya - Muş - Siirt - Tunceli - Van Marmara Balıkesir - Bilecik - Bursa - Çanakkale - Edirne - Istanbul - Kırklareli - Kocaeli - Sakarya - Tekirdağ - Yalova Mediterranean Adana - Antalya- Burdur - Hatay - Isparta - Kahramanmaraş - Mersin - Osmaniye Southeastern Anatolia Adıyaman - Batman - Diyarbakır - Gaziantep - Kilis - Mardin - Şanlıurfa - Şırnak

Coordinates: 41°36′36″N 35°35′42″E / 41.61°N 35.595°E / 41.61; 35.595

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2010)

Ümit Besen (born 1956, Osmaniye, Turkey) represents the darker side of Tarabya school of electronic music. He started his professional career with playing keyboards and singing with his band at the local clubs in Adana, Southern Turkey. While he was in the army for his obligatory service a brigadier-general (Brigadier in Commonwealth armies) liked his style and appointed him with the task of singing at the officers tavern.^[1]

1980s and rising popularity[link]

After the completion of his 18 months service he returned to Adana. While singing and playing to make his living one day Turkish football legend Metin Oktay visited the club he was working at. Amazed by the power of his voice and his knowledge of synthesizers, Metin Oktay recommended him to his club owner friends in Istanbul.

In Istanbul he kept playing at famous clubs and finally he was teamed up with songwriters Selami Şahin and Ahmet Selçuk İlkan to record his first LP. The result was not only a commercial success.

Ümit Besen today[link]

Although not being as famous as he was in the 80s, Ümit is probably one of the best known artist to come from the legendary Tarabya scene, only second to Cengiz Kurtoğlu if not the best known. Today he performs at Yeni Mercan club in Yenikapı (A borough in Fatih district), İstanbul.

Albums[link]

• Şikayetim Var (1980)
• Islak mendil (1981)
• Bayramın Olsun (1982)
• İkimizin Yerine (1982)
• Dostlar Sağolsun (1983)
• Yıkılan Gurur (1984)
• Bir Akşam Üstü (1984)
• Vazgeçtim Senden (1985)
• I Love You (1986)
• Deli Gönlüm (1987)
• Halk Konseri 1 (1987)
• Aşk Burcu (1988)
• Müzikli Bir Masal (1989)
• Bir Tanesin Sen (1990)
• Son Şarkı (1991)
• Gökkuşağı (1992)
• İkimiz De Sevdik (1993)
• Görüşürüz (1994)
• Yalnız Kaldım (1995)
• Yağmur Var Gözlerimde (1996)
• Hadi Git (1997)
• Nostalji (1998)
• Bizim Hikayemiz (2000)
• Dokunsalar Ağlarım (2001)
• O Gece (2003)
• Ben Bu Gece Ölmezsem (2006)
• İyi Günde Kötü Günde (2008)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website

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