''Gonca'' is a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

steamship built sometime between 1907 and 1909 and homeported in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. The ship currently serves as an excursion ship and

steam yacht A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts. Origin of the name The English steamboat entrepreneur George Dodd (1783–1827) used the term ...

for charter. It is unknown where the ship was built, but markings on the ship's engine suggest that at least the engine was built in Britain. ''Gonca'' was constructed as the support ship ''Selânik'' for the French harbor management company in charge of developing modern infrastructure for the port of

Salonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

on behalf of the Ottoman authorities. In the final years of Ottoman rule, the '' Société Anonyme Ottomane de Construction et Exploitation du Port de Salonique'' was tasked with developing several modern commercial shipping piers as well as railroad connections and others support infrastructure for the port of Salonica. The ship was pressed into service as a minelayer by the Ottoman navy in September 1911 during the Italo-Ottoman War and was not returned to her owners due to the fall of Salonica to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

in the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

in 1912. In order to prevent the ship's capture by the Greeks, the Ottoman commander of the Salonica minelaying flotilla briefly transferred the ships to French registry, prompting an immediate diplomatic protest by the neutral French observers when the ships came under attack by the Greeks. ''Selânik'' and the other minelayers were then allowed safe passage out of the surrendering city by the Greeks before returning to the Ottoman flag upon passing through the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the ship continued to serve as a minelayer at

Çanakkale Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate). Çanakkale is ...

and is one of only two surviving ships to have served in this role (the other being the purpose-built minelayer '' Nusrat'' in Tarsus). With the end of the First World War the ship was laid up in Gonca Bay at

Gölcük Naval Base Gölcük Naval Base ( tr, Gölcük Deniz Ana Üssü) is the main base of the Turkish Navy on the east coast of the Sea of Marmara in Gölcük, Kocaeli. It is the principal base for logistic support with various facilities stretched over of land ...

until 1927, when she was converted into a transport ship and given her current name ''Gonca''. After 1944 the ship was used by the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establi ...

as a work ferry and served for many years carrying workers between Izmit and Gölcük before being decommissioned in 1989. In 1993, the ship was saved from scrapping by the

Rahmi M. Koç Museum The Rahmi M. Koç Museum is a private industrial museum in Istanbul, Turkey dedicated to the history of transport, industry and communications. Rahmi M. Koç, member of the wealthiest dynasty in Turkey and retired chairman (currently the honorar ...

, which moved the ship to

Tuzla, Istanbul Tuzla is a municipality of the province in Istanbul, Turkey on the Asian side of the city next to the municipality of Pendik. Tuzla is on a headland on the coast of Marmara Sea, at the eastern limit of the city. The mayor is Şadi Yazıcı ( AK ...

to begin work to restore her Ottoman-era

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

fittings. Gonca was relaunched in 1997 and is currently owned by the Rahmi M. Koç Museum.

References

External links

Description of the ship at the Rahmi M. Koc MuseumPictures from the 1990s restoration of the ship
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-WW1) Minelayers of the Ottoman Navy World War I naval ships of the Ottoman Empire Ships of the Ottoman Empire Passenger ships of Turkey Steam yachts