The territory of Amastris produced a great quantity of boxwood, which grew on Mount Cytorus. Its tyrant Eumenes presented the city of Amastris to Ariobarzanes of Pontus in c. 265–260 BC rather than submit it to domination by Heraclea, and it remained in the Pontic kingdom until its capture by Lucius Lucullus in 70 BC in the second Mithridatic War.[11] The younger Pliny, when he was governor of Bithynia and Pontus, describes Amastris, in a letter to Trajan,[12] as a handsome city, with a very long open place (platea), on one side of which extended what was called a river, but in fact was a filthy, pestilent, open drain. Pliny obtained the emperor's permission to cover over this sewer. On a coin of the time of Trajan, Amastris has the title Metropolis. It continued to be a town of some note to the seventh century of our era. From Amasra got its name an important place of Constantinople, the Amastrianum.

The city was not abandoned in Byzantine Era, when the acropolis was transformed into a fortress and the still surviving church was built. It was sacked by the Rus during the First Russo-Byzantine War in the 830s. But it was in 1261 that Amastris regained part of its former importance; in that year the town was taken by the Italian Republic of Genoa in its bid to obtain sole control of the Black Sea trade. Genoese domination ended in 1460 when the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II conquered the whole Anatolian shores of the Black Sea.
Main sights

With its architectural heritage, Amasra is a member of the Norwich-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions.[13]
Amasra Castle

Amasra Castle was built during the Roman period. The walls of the castle were built by the Byzantines. The front walls and gates were built by the Genoese in the 14th and 15th centuries.[14] Though located on a narrow peninsula, a tunnel under the castle leads to a fresh water pool.
Church Mosque

Built as a Byzantine church in the 9th century AD. The church is a small chapel and its narthex section consists of three parts. After Fatih Sultan Mehmet conquered Amasra in 1460, it was converted to a mosque. The church mosque was closed to prayer in 1930.[14]
Amasra church mosque
Bird's Rock Road Monument

Bird's Rock Road Monument was created between 41-54 AD by order of Bithynia et Pontus Governor Gaius Julius Aquila. It was a resting place and monument. At the time when Claudius was Rome's Emperor, Aguila was the commander of the building army in the eastern provinces.[14] It is located a little outside Amasra on the road in, it is easily accessed by steps leading from the roadside.
Bird's Rock Road Monument
Power Station

In 2009 a coal-fired power station of 2640 MWe (or 1200 MWe) was proposed.[15] It will have a super critical boiler, will utilise a nearby bituminous coal mine and is to be seawater cooled. An application has been made to acquire 49-year long-term concession rights for exploitation of local bituminous proven coal reserves of approximately 573 million metric tons.[16] Concerns have been raised about the effect on air quality,[17] marine ecology [18] and ash [19]
Sources

"Amastris" from the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)
Richard Stillwell, William L. MacDonald, Marian Holland McAllister (editors); The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, "Amastris", Princeton, (1976)
Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, "Amastris", London, (1854)

See also

Amasya

References
Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (September 2012)

^ "Area of regions (including lakes), km²". Regional Statistics Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. 2002. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
^ "Population of province/district centers and towns/villages by districts - 2012". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
^ Homer, Iliad, ii. 853
^ Stephanus, Ethnica, s.v. "Amastris"
^ Ibid., s.v. "Cromna"
^ Homer, ii. 855
^ Memnon, History of Heraclea, 5, 9
^ Strabo, Geography, xii. 3
^ Pomponius Mela, De chorographia, i. 93
^ Pliny the Elder, Natural History, vi. 2
^ Appian, The Foreign Wars, "The Mithridatic Wars", 82
^ Pliny the Younger, Letters, x. 99
^ "Turkey". European Association of Historic Towns and Regions. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
^ a b c Local signage
^ http://www.hemaenerji.com/en/home/about_company.asp
^ http://www.turkishweekly.net/columnist/3261/new-thermal-power-plant-investment-in-amasra-county-of-bartin-province.html
^ http://energynewsletterturkey.blogspot.com/2010/04/on-amasra-new-thermal-power-plant.html
^ http://energynewsletterturkey.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-thermal-power-plant-investment.html
^ http://www.amasra.biz/haber/221-haberler-amasra39yi-seviyorumtermik-santral-istemiyorum.html

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–57). . Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.

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