| Alaçam | |
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| — Town — | |
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Alaçam
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| Coordinates: | |
| 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]
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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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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