EDIRNE: One-day Itinerary MORNING: Start your day with a visit to Selimiyi Mosquein Dilaver parki. This park is easy to find, as it is right in the centre, and beside the mosque's four slender, 70m-tall minarets are beacons from wherever you are in the city. At…Read More

EDIRNE: One-day Itinerary

MORNING:
Start your day with a visit to Selimiyi Mosquein Dilaver parki. This park is easy to find, as it is right in the centre, and beside the mosque's four slender, 70m-tall minarets are beacons from wherever you are in the city.

At the entrance of the park, you will see the statue of Mimar Sinan. He was the court architect to three sultans, and the Selimiyi Mosque, built in the 16th century, was his masterpiece. He wanted to build a dome higher and wider than the dome of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. With a diameter of 31.5m, the Selimiyi dome is just a few centimetre wider, one of the mosque's wardens told me proudly.

Stroll through the park until you get to the entrance of Selimiye Arastasi, a covered market full of clothing and household goods (closed on Sundays). It is one long arched corridor with some 60 shops on both sides and a prayer dome in the middle. Its historical name is Kavaflar Çarsisi, which means "bargain bazaar." The shopkeepers say their prayers under this dome and promise that they will trade honestly. I did not see them pray, but I bought a few things at a fair price.

In the middle of the bazaar, you go up a flight of stone steps. They lead to the mosque's courtyard, surrounded by with red-and-white colonnaded arches, and to the entrance of Selimiyi Mosque.

Its interior is sober and sumptuous at the same time. Sober because there is no furniture apart from the pulpit made of finely carved marble and resembles delicate lace. Sober because the interior is one vast expanse covered a wall-to-wall carpet, all red and blue. The pattern of this carpet is such that it resembles individual prayer mats.

Sumptuous because of its millions of ceramic wall tiles, 12 mother-of-pearl decorated pillars, and calligraphy proclaiming the glory of Allah (but difficult to check for non-Arab reading visitors).

I liked this mosque far better than the Blue Mosque in Istanbul with thousands of tourists each day. The Selimiyi Mosque is more a place of worship and less a museum.

Go back to Dilaver parki and sit in one of the tea gardens. Sip your tea or coffee (ask for Turkish coffee, which is served in tiny cups, and allow the grounds to settle before you drink it).

LATE MORNING:
Two more mosques to visit. First, Üç Serefeli Mosque (three balcony mosque) is easy to spot, because it has four different minarets: one is fluted, one with red-and-white squares, one with red-and-white diamond-shaped stones, and one with a corkscrew pattern. The prayer hall is only 24m in diameter. The courtyard is rectangular, and the four minarets are placed at its four corners. This was a new feature, and many other mosques were built in this style.

Two mosques may be enough for one morning, but if you are a mosque buff, the Eski Camii, or the Old Mosque, is just opposite Selimiyi Mosque. It is the oldest Ottoman monument in Edirne and dates back to early the 15th century. It is multi-domed and has a marble gate and many decorative inscriptions inside.

AFTERNOON:
The best place to sit down for lunch is opposite the Kervansaray Hotel in Antik Park. It is one of the few places where you can sit amidst plants and flowers, but the best recommendation is that the exhaust fumes are hardly noticeable. Most of the waiters speak English, and they can help you choose from the menu. Try green-pepper dolma with rice stuffing and a salad. Dolma means stuffed. Vegetable dolma is prepared in olive oil and eaten at room temperature.

You are now energetic enough to walk the 1km to the Sultan II Bayezid Complex. On the way, you pass two of the many arched Ottoman bridges spanning the river Tunca.

Just past the stone Beyazit II bridge, you will see the multiple domed building, which is very beautiful and a very good photo opportunity.

The Bayezid complex includes a mosque (in the process of being renovated), a medical school, and the asylum. The insane were treated in domed cells. In those days, psychiatrists used therapy treatments similar to those we have these days: the sound of water, occupational therapy, music, and sweet smelling of flowers.

The asylum is now the Health Museum. It has been restored beautifully. There are six rooms and a music hall. Water runs from a fountain in the middle. Wax dolls in the rooms represent doctors and patients, so you will get a good impression of what the hospital/asylum must have looked like.

Walk back to the centre and drink tea from small, tulip-shaped glasses in Antik Park. There are other places, but this is by far the best place to sit.

It is now time to do some shopping, and a good place is Alipasha Kapali Çarsisi, the covered bazaar. It is an old building built by Mimar Sinan. There are six gates and over 100 shops. Don't forget to look up at the vaulted ceiling.

Walk to Kaleçi. This is area west of the covered market and bordered by Londra Aspfalti Road and Saraçlar Street. Wander at leisure through the small streets and alleys and look out for the timber framed houses. They are characterised by broad eaves and bay windows.

EVENING:
Walk back to the Rüstempasha Kervansaray Hotel. This was another building designed by Mimar Sinan. This karavansaray was used by merchants travelling along the silk route. It provided a safe place for merchants to trade and stay the night. Travellers could stay for up to 3 days, and they were catered for and their animals looked after and fed. Karavansarays were built at a distance of 40km, 8 or 10 hours on foot.

The rooms in the Rüstempasha Kervansaray hotel are built around the central courtyards. Each room has its own porch and fireplace. The windows and door frames are beautifully decorated with stone carvings.

The restaurant of the hotel is a good place for a meal. Arnavut cigeri and imam bayıldı, spiced liver and stuffed eggplant, were my favourites. Finish your meal with kazandibi. The translation said: a milk pudding slightly burnt on the bottom. It was delicious!

Kiyiköy looks promising on the map. First of all, it is on the Black Sea coast. Secondly, it is a small dot - so it must be a small village - and only 60km west of Istanbul. When we got to Kiyiköy, the village was even…Read More

Kiyiköy looks promising on the map. First of all, it is on the Black Sea coast. Secondly, it is a small dot - so it must be a small village - and only 60km west of Istanbul.

When we got to Kiyiköy, the village was even better than it had looked on the map. It is situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Black Sea. Once it was a walled citadel, but these days, only two city gates are left.

Kiyiköy is a small village, and in an hour, we had been everywhere. We stopped to admire the old, half-timbered houses, but many are uninhabited and in serious disrepair. These days the inhabitants live in modern, concrete houses.

Next we went to the West Gate and took the road that led down to Kazandere River. We followed it for some 300m upstream and came to the Monastry of St Nicolas, a church carved into the rock of the hillside dating back to the 3rd century. It has colonnaded aisles, a semicircular apse, and tiered seats, all weather-worn and overgrown with moss. The lower floor was the church, and the monks lived on the upper floor. The church was built by early Christians fleeing from persecution by the Romans. It was built in this place because there is a mineral spring. It is beautiful place and very peaceful and has great views.

The best beaches are west of the village, a 2km stretch, with some beach huts and showers. There are two restaurants that serve fresh fish. But we were here in April, and the beach was deserted.

We found Bar-Café-Marina, a good place to eat. We sat outside on the terrace, and the fishing harbour was down below. I have no address, but Kiyiköy is so small that on your wanderings, you will have passed it several times already.

Kartal Tea Garden, next to the West Gate, is the best place to watch the sun set against a backdrop of beach, fields, and poplars. Late afternoon, hundreds of storks settled down in one of the fields. Kiyiköy is one of their migration stops.

We were here late April, and Kiyiköy was very quiet, with no visitors. This is different from June to September, when many people from Istanbul spend their holidays here. They usually stay for 2 months because Istanbul is too hot and polluted in summer.

Thrace is the area west of Istanbul and the only Turkish province in Europe. It is traversed by the toll road from Istanbul to Edirne (250km). This is an ancient road that follows the Via Egnatia. (This Roman military highway stretched across Macedonia and Thrace…Read More

Thrace is the area west of Istanbul and the only Turkish province in Europe. It is traversed by the toll road from Istanbul to Edirne (250km). This is an ancient road that follows the Via Egnatia. (This Roman military highway stretched across Macedonia and Thrace and served to link Rome with its eastern provinces).

FROM ISTANBUL TO KIKIÖY

Buses to Turkish Thrace leave from Esenler Otogar (bus station), some 10km northwest of central Istanbul.

We went to the Esenler Bus station by Light Railway and got off at Otogar (not at Essenler).

Kiyikoy is a Black Sea coastal village. There are no direct buses from Istanbul to Kiyiköy. But three daily buses (from Esenler Otogar) run to Saray. When we arrived at Saray Otogar, the Kiyiköy bus stood waiting. The journey took 3 hours, and we paid 12 Ytl (€7.50 or $9) per person.

FROM KIYIKÖY TO EDIRNE

There are no direct buses from Kiyiköy to Edirne. We had to change buses twice, first in Vize and then in Kirklari.

Vize is some 15km from Kiyiköy. This bus takes a scenic route and does not take the main road, but it calls at several villages on minor roads. We drove through pleasant rolling countryside and overtook tractors piled high with brushwood needed for heating in winter. In summer, sunflowers move their flower heads to catch the sun., but we were here in late April. The fields were being ploughed.

After 1 hour, we were in Vize, where the Kirklari bus stood waiting. We whizzed along the main road and met few other cars and buses. A short wait in Kirklari and we boarded the Edirne bus. The complete journey took 2.5 hours, and we paid 12 Ytl (€7.50 or $9) per person.

The Edirne bus station is 2km away from the centre, but there are free shuttle buses. We almost missed the stop in the city centre (the shuttle bus goes to the suburbs beyond the centre), but a friendly passenger told us to get off, cross the road, and walk straight on. He was right; we were now in the centre.

FOM EDIRNE TO THE GREEK BORDER AND ALEXANDROPOULOS

Although the Greek border is only 20km away, getting there is not very straightforward, because there is no public transport.

A private minibus to the border costs 30€, but it is not allowed to cross the border on foot. If there is enough border-crossing traffic and the cars are not full, we could try and hitch across the border, as several people told us. But we decided that we did not want to get stuck at the border and paid 50€ for a taxi to Orestiáda. (Journey time from Edirne to Orestiáda is 1 hour and 15 minutes, excluding time spent at customs, which was some 20 minutes.)

The border crossing is at Pazarkule. This is not a village, only the border crossing. It is 10 minutes by car from the centre of Edirne. If you take an ordinary taxi, it will drop you at the border (which is complete with tax-free booths). The driver may promise you to take you to Kastaniés, the first village in Greece, but he needs a passport, visa, and export papers for his taxi, which most taxi drivers haven't got.

Kastaniés is a very small village. (From Kastaniés to Orestiáda, there are eight buses on weekdays, five buses on Saturdays, and two on Sundays.) Besides, there is not much traffic going from Turkey to Greece, so hitching would have been difficult.

What you need is an international bus company. They have minibuses and the necessary papers for the driver.

We rented a minibus from:
ECE (the name of the bus company)
Kervansaray Dükkanlari No 23
Edirne
Tel: (0284) 225 32 11
It is one of the shops outside the Kervansaray Hotel, just along its wall.

There are frequent buses from Orestiáda to Alexandropoulos (13 buses per day, also on Saturday and Sunday). It costs 7.40€ per person.