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Edirne
is a pleasant, historic city seldom
visited by tourists even
though it's an easy day-trip west
of Istanbul (map).
I
guess it's just in the wrong direction:
from Istanbul, most of Turkey is
east and south, so no one thinks
of going west.
Edirne (eh-DEER-neh,
pop. 130,000; formerly Adrianople)
has wonderful mosques because it
was the second capital of
the Ottoman
Empire (after Bursa,
before Istanbul).
Spend
the morning seeing the fine mosques
in representing the great ages of Ottoman
architecture: the Eski (1418), Muradiye (1436), Üçserefeli (1447), Beyazit
II (1488) and the elegant Selimiye (1575).
Wander
through Edirne's old Roman district
admiring the picturesque wooden Edirnekâri (Ottoman
Victorian) houses.
Walk
down to the Meriç (Maritza) River to
see the graceful Ottoman bridges.
Have tea or
a meal in a shady riverside restaurant.
Browse
the bazaar and covered markets,
then hop a bus back to Istanbul,
and you'll have enjoyed one of your
most pleasant days in Turkey, with
few other tourists around.
Edirne's tourist
office (turizm bürosu) is
on Hürriyet
Meydani, the main square,
near the town's main intersection
of
Talat Pasa Caddesi and Saraçlar/Hükümet
Caddesi.
Take
a morning bus from Istanbul's Büyük
Otogar (bus terminal) on the
235-km (146-mile, 2-1/2-hour) run
westward along the Otoyol (expressway)
to Edirne. Buses depart for Edirne
about every 15 or 20 minutes all
day, from breakfast to dinner time.
Distances & Travel
Times
Çanakkale: 230
km (143), 4 hours
Gallipoli: 220
km (137 miles) S, 3.5 hours
Istanbul: 235
km (146 miles), 2-1/2 hours
Maps
of Thrace & Marmara Region
Thrace & Dardanelles
Sea
of Marmara
Turkey
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