Ordu travel guide

Ordu or Altınordu, is a port city on the Black Sea coast of Turkey and the capital of Ordu Province. The city forms the urban part of the Altınordu district, with a population of 235,096 in 2023.

This city in ancient times was Kotyora (Κοτύωρα), indicating pottery manufacture. It was a small port of little strategic value in an agricultural region, held by several empires until taken by the Ottomans in 1461. They built an army base 10 km inland – "Ordu" means army base and in 1869 this became the name of the entire city. Half the population were Greek or Armenian until the massacres and deportations of the early 20th century. In 2021 the city central district was renamed Altınordu, but no-one paid much heed.

Getting in

Ordu stands on the coastal highway D010, 150 km east of Samsun and 180 km west of Trabzon. Ordu-Giresun Airport (OGU) has flights every couple of hours from Istanbul (both IST and SAW), and once a day from Ankara and Izmir. The airport is clean and adequate for its limited throughput, with the usual facilities including car hire. It's 18 km east of Ordu along the highway to Giresun, built on reclaimed land into the Black Sea. Havas shuttle bus runs downtown. You could also pick up a dolmuş on the nearby highway. Samsun-Çarşamba Airport (SZF), 132 km west, has more domestic flights.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.