Edirne
Edirne (still known sometimes by its old name Adrianople) is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part ofTurkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, beforeConstantinople (Istanbul) became the empire's new capital.Edirne is a living city - museum with its mosques,
is a living city - museum with its mosques, religious complexes, bridges, old bazaar places, caravanserais and palaces.
As it was the capital city of the Ottoman Empire 100 years ago, there are numerous historical and architectural important structures in the province. Edirne is a living city - museum with its mosques, religious complexes, bridges, old bazaar places, caravanserais and palaces.
History
The area around Edirne, thanks to its strategic position on the major routes towards Istanbul, Bosphorus, and onward to Asia, is one of the spots on earth that was heavily fought for—it has been site of no fewer 16 major battles and sieges since the days of Ancient Greeks. Edirne’s former name
Read MoreClimate
Temperate continental — hot and occasionally rainy (as showers which tend to last for 15–20 minutes) summers (expect up to 40º C); cold and rainy, occasionally snowy winters (expect down to -10º C). Spring and autumn months tend to be warmer than the locations on the sea coast (such as Istanbul)—so
Read MorePlaces of interest
The sights in Edirne can be roughly grouped into those that are in downtown, those in northwestern neighbourhoods (Sarayiçi, and Yeniimaret) across the Tundzha River, and those in southwestern neighbourhood (Karaağaç) across the Tundzha and the Maritsa Rivers. A good number of medieval bridges span these rivers. Downtown Main sights
Read MoreActivities & Sports
Wrestling Competition Watch anoil-wrestling(yağlı güreş) competition, the national sport of Turks (although surpassed a little by soccer lately), which annually takes place in the stadium in Sarayiçi, northwestern outskirts of the city, on the banks of Tundzha. (Although dates vary year to year, it always takes place in late spring
Read MoreCar
The city is on the main highways linking Turkey and Europe (road numbers: toll-free D100 and toll-road/motorway O-3/E80). A drive takes no more than two hours from Istanbul(224 km away) to Edirne on the motorway, even less if you driveveryfast. The main European-Turkish border post Kapikule/Kapitan Andreevo (between Turkey andBulgaria,
Read MoreTrain
There are two daily trains fromIstanbul’s Sirkeci station (one at 8:30AM in the morning, and the other at 3:50PM in the afternoon. Both arrives in Edirne about four hours later). Trains fromEuropeto Istanbul also call at the station. The main station (signed asEdirne Garon the station building) lies about 4
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