Ünye

Ünye stands on a bay on the southern Black Sea, where a narrow coastal plain meets wooded hills. Its harbour served the settlements of the interior, and a fortress rose on a rocky height inland. The town passed through Roman and Byzantine rule before becoming part of the Turkish principalities and the Ottoman world.

During the eighteenth century the opening of the Black Sea to international commerce drew more foreign traders to its ports. Ünye's harbour gained importance as ships carried goods along the coast and beyond. The palace of Süleyman Pasha and its walls recalled the authority of local Ottoman notables, whose influence was rooted in the town and its surrounding district. The port remained a point of contact between the mountain hinterland and the sea.