22 · City guide
Edirne
City of the Selimiye, second capital of the sultans
Edirne was founded as Hadrianopolis in the Roman period and, after passing to the Ottomans in the 1360s, served as the state's capital until the conquest of İstanbul. The city center can be explored on foot: the Selimiye and its arasta (bazaar), the Eski Mosque and the Bedesten, Ali Paşa Bazaar and the Macedonian Tower are a few minutes from one another. Bridges over the Tunca and Meriç link the city to the Bayezid II Complex, Sarayiçi and Karaağaç; the Kırkpınar wrestling is held at Sarayiçi every summer. The province reaches south to the Gulf of Saros and the Meriç delta: the castle of Enez, the birds of Gala Gölü (Lake Gala) and the beaches of Erikli show a different Edirne. Uzunköprü, regarded as one of the longest stone bridges in the world, and the dolmens of Lalapaşa can also be added to the route.
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Where shall we explore?
Machine translated — This content was machine-translated and may differ from the original Turkish text.History and archaeology
Adalet Kasrı (Justice Pavilion) and Sarayiçi
Merkez, Edirne
The only building of Edirne Palace to survive intact; a stone tower with a pyramidal roof, added under Süleyman the Magnificent.
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Ali Paşa Bazaar
Merkez, Edirne
A long covered bazaar built by Mimar Sinan for Semiz Ali Paşa, with six gates and red-and-white arches.
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Lagoon
Dalyan Gölü (Lake Dalyan)
Enez, Edirne
The largest lagoon lake of the Meriç delta connected to the sea, just southeast of Enez.
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Darülhadis Mosque
Merkez, Edirne
A mosque-madrasa built by Murad II in 1435 on the bank of the Tunca, with princes' tombs on its qibla side.
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Edirne Bedesten
Merkez, Edirne
Edirne's oldest covered bazaar, with fourteen domes, commissioned by Çelebi Mehmed to provide income for the Eski Mosque.
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Great Synagogue of Edirne
Merkez, Edirne
Türkiye's largest synagogue and one of the largest in Europe; a 1907 building reopened after restoration.
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Edirne Museum
Merkez, Edirne
East of the Selimiye; archaeology and ethnography collections spanning Thrace from prehistory to the Ottomans.
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Edirne Palace (Saray-ı Cedid-i Amire) Ruins
Merkez, Edirne
The ruins on the Tunca of the Saray-ı Cedid, the largest Ottoman palace after Topkapı; revival work is under way.
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Ekmekçizade Ahmet Paşa Caravanserai
Merkez, Edirne
A monumental caravanserai south of the Selimiye, completed in 1610 and also known as Küpeli Han.
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Enez Altınkum Beach
Enez, Edirne
A long Aegean sandy beach south of Enez, favored by families for its fine sand and shallow water.
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Church
Enez Hagia Sophia (Fatih Mosque)
Enez, Edirne
The remains inside Enez Castle of a building constructed as a basilica in the 12th century and converted into a mosque after the conquest.
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Enez Castle
Enez, Edirne
A castle with the character of an open-air museum, rising above ancient Ainos where the Meriç flows into the Aegean.
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Erikli Beach
Keşan, Edirne
Keşan's best-known summer beach on the northern shore of the Gulf of Saros, with clean sea and a long sandy shore.
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Eski Mosque (Old Mosque)
Merkez, Edirne
Edirne's oldest surviving monumental building; an early Ottoman mosque famous for its nine domes and giant calligraphy.
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Evliya Kasımpaşa Mosque
Merkez, Edirne
A single-domed mosque dated 1478 on the north bank of the Tunca, with steps for those arriving by river; under restoration.
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Gala Gölü National Park
Enez, Edirne
A wetland national park in the Meriç (Evros) delta, home to more than a hundred bird species including the Dalmatian pelican.
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Gazi Mihal Bridge
Merkez, Edirne
One of the city's oldest bridges, over the Tunca, with Byzantine foundations and widened several times by the Ottomans.
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Tomb (türbe)
Has Yunus Bey Tomb
Enez, Edirne
The octagonal tomb of Grand Admiral Has Yunus Bey, who led the Ottoman fleet in the conquest of Enez.
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Havsa Sokullu Mehmed Paşa Complex
Havsa, Edirne
The Havsa staging complex commissioned from Mimar Sinan by Sokullu Mehmed Paşa in the name of his son Kasım Paşa.
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Mosque
Hersekzade Ahmed Paşa Mosque
Keşan, Edirne
A square-plan domed mosque in Keşan, commissioned in 1511 by Grand Vizier Hersekzade Ahmed Paşa and under restoration.
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Mound (höyük)
Hoca Çeşme Mound
Enez, Edirne
A mound on a rocky ridge near Enez, home to one of the oldest known Neolithic settlements in Thrace.
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Bayezid II Bridge (Tunca)
Merkez, Edirne
A bridge over the Tunca with six pointed arches, linking the Bayezid II Complex to the city.
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İlhan Koman Sculpture and Painting Museum
Merkez, Edirne
A university art museum on the Karaağaç Campus displaying works donated by hundreds of contemporary artists.
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İpsala Rice Plain (İpsala Rice)
İpsala, Edirne
Vast paddy fields on the Meriç plain where İpsala rice, also registered in the European Union, is grown.
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Kırkpınar Wrestling Arena
Merkez, Edirne
The arena at Sarayiçi where the Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling, regarded as one of the world's oldest sporting events, is held every summer.
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Lalapaşa Dolmens (Hacıdanişment)
Lalapaşa, Edirne
Dolmens: prehistoric tomb monuments built from stone blocks by the Thracians, in and around Hacıdanişment.
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Lausanne Monument and Karaağaç Station Building
Merkez, Edirne
A monument and museum in Karaağaç commemorating the Treaty of Lausanne, beside an elegant historic railway station.
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Macedonian Tower
Merkez, Edirne
The only surviving corner tower of the Roman-period city walls, surrounded by excavated wall and church remains.
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Mecidiye Coast
Keşan, Edirne
An immigrant village on Keşan's Saros coast with a shoreline about 12 kilometers long and its sandy beaches.
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Meriç Bridge
Merkez, Edirne
A 19th-century stone bridge over the Meriç River with a date pavilion in its middle, the city's favorite sunset viewpoint.
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Muradiye Mosque
Merkez, Edirne
A hilltop mosque built by Murad II as a Mevlevi lodge, known for the early İznik tiles on its mihrab wall.
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Rüstem Paşa Caravanserai
Merkez, Edirne
A large two-courtyard Ottoman caravanserai commissioned from Mimar Sinan by Grand Vizier Rüstem Paşa in 1554.
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Saraçhane Bridge
Merkez, Edirne
A Tunca bridge on the way to Sarayiçi, commissioned in 1451 by Şehabettin Paşa, Beylerbey of Rumelia.
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Selimiye Arasta
Merkez, Edirne
A historic bazaar along a single arched street at the western foot of the Selimiye, its revenues assigned to the mosque.
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Selimiye Mosque and Complex
Merkez, Edirne
What Mimar Sinan called his 'masterpiece', the pinnacle of Ottoman architecture with its dome and four slender minarets; UNESCO World Heritage.
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Şükrü Paşa Monument and Balkan Wars Museum
Merkez, Edirne
The memorial tomb of Şükrü Paşa, commander of the defense of Edirne, and the Balkan Wars Museum in the Kıyık Redoubt.
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Reservoir and pond
Süloğlu Dam
Süloğlu, Edirne
A dam lake on the Süloğlu Deresi; a recreation area in summer and a stop on Sultans' Trail walks.
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Sultan Bayezid II Complex Health Museum
Merkez, Edirne
An award-winning health museum in the hospital of the Bayezid II Complex on the Tunca, telling of treatment through music and the sound of water.
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Sveti Georgi Bulgarian Church
Merkez, Edirne
A basilica-plan Bulgarian Orthodox church in the Kıyık quarter, built in 1880 and reopened after restoration in 2004.
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Church of Sveti Konstantin and Elena
Merkez, Edirne
A Bulgarian church in Uzunkaldırım, built in 1869 in less than seven months and restored and reopened in 2008.
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Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art
Merkez, Edirne
A museum in the madrasa rooms of the Selimiye Complex displaying Ottoman-era crafts, calligraphy and Kırkpınar memorabilia.
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Üç Şerefeli Mosque
Merkez, Edirne
A mosque showing the transition from early Ottoman to the classical period, with its large fountain courtyard and three-balconied minaret.
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Uzunköprü (Ergene Bridge)
Uzunköprü, Edirne
At 1,392 meters over the Ergene, one of the longest stone bridges in the world; a 15th-century structure that gave the district its name.
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Uzunköprü Muradiye Mosque
Uzunköprü, Edirne
One of the largest gable-roofed Ottoman mosques, commissioned by Murad II together with Uzunköprü in 1443.
Practical information
Machine translated — This content was machine-translated and may differ from the original Turkish text.- Climate
- Transitional continental; hot summers, cold and occasionally snowy winters. Milder in Enez and Keşan on the coast
- Best season
- April–June and September–October; Kırkpınar in late June–early July, July–August for the Saros coast
- Museum pass
- Müzekart (Museum Pass) is valid at Ministry-run museums such as the Edirne Museum and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts; the Health Museum belongs to Trakya University
- Getting there
- About 2.5–3 hours from İstanbul by motorway; there are regular intercity bus services and an İstanbul–Edirne rail connection. The city center is explored on foot.
- Border crossings
- Traffic can be heavy at the Kapıkule (Bulgaria), Pazarkule and İpsala (Greece) border crossings during religious holidays and vacation periods