Edirne

Former Ottoman capital whose Selimiye Mosque, Sinan's masterpiece, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and whose oil-wrestling festival has run for more than 600 years.

Edirne sits in the northwestern corner of Thrace, Turkey's European region, right by the Greek and Bulgarian borders and about 230 km northwest of Istanbul. Known in antiquity as Adrianople (Hadrianopolis), it was the Ottoman capital from 1369 to 1453 and remained a favourite summer seat of the sultans afterwards. The city is ringed by the Tunca and Meriç rivers, and its main sights are concentrated in a walkable old town: Sinan's late masterpiece, the Selimiye Mosque (UNESCO World Heritage Site), crowns the centre, surrounded by the Old Mosque, the Üç Şerefeli Mosque, the Bedesten and the Ali Pasha Bazaar. North along the Tunca are the Sultan Bayezid II Health Museum, the ruins of Edirne Palace on Sarayiçi island and the oil-wrestling arena; to the south, the Meriç Bridge is the spot for sunset, and further south the Karaağaç district has the old Orient Express station and the Lausanne Monument. Held from late June to early July, the Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival has run for more than 600 years and is Turkey's most famous traditional competition. The climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters; April–June and September–October are the best times to go. Getting there: frequent buses run daily from Istanbul, taking about 2.5–3 hours; local minibuses link the districts. Plan on 1–2 days: day one for the old-town mosques and bazaars, day two for the riverside palace ruins, the Health Museum and sunset at the Meriç Bridge. Must-tries are fried liver (tava ciğer) and almond paste (badem ezmesi), and fruit-shaped soaps make a classic souvenir. In mosques, dress modestly, remove your shoes, women should cover their hair, and avoid prayer times; accommodation is scarce during the oil-wrestling festival, so book early.

Top sights

• Selimiye Mosque – The masterpiece that Ottoman architect Sinan regarded as his finest work, with a huge dome and four slender minarets; a UNESCO World Herita…
• Complex of Sultan Bayezid II Health Museum – A 15th-century Ottoman hospital complex that treated the mentally ill with music and running water; now a museum that has won a European mu…
• Meriç Bridge – A mid-19th-century stone arch bridge with a viewing pavilion in the middle; a classic spot in Edirne for watching the sunset.
• Old Mosque – An early Ottoman mosque completed in 1414 with nine domes; the enormous calligraphy on its walls is the highlight.
• Üç Şerefeli Mosque – A turning-point Ottoman building of the 15th century, with one minaret that has three tiers of balconies, and four minarets that each diffe…
• Ali Pasha Bazaar – A long market street with red-and-white striped vaults designed by Sinan, where you can buy fruit-shaped soaps, almond sweets and Turkish s…
• Bedesten – A stone-built covered market completed in 1418, with fourteen domes sheltering stalls that sell textiles and souvenirs.
• Selimiye Arasta – An arcaded market beneath the Selimiye Mosque, where you can browse souvenir stalls on your way into the mosque.
• Rüstem Pasha Caravanserai – A 16th-century caravanserai built by Sinan for a grand vizier, now a historic hotel where you can stay.
• Edirne Palace ruins & Justice Tower – The ruins of the Ottoman New Palace, once the sultan's summer residence; the Justice Tower still stands and some buildings are being rebuil…
• Kırkpınar Arena (Sarayiçi) – One of the world's oldest sporting events still held today; the arena and wrestler statues sit on the river island beside the palace ruins.
• Grand Synagogue of Edirne – A Sephardic synagogue completed in 1909, fully restored and reopened in 2015, and the largest synagogue in Turkey.
• Muradiye Mosque – A hilltop mosque built by Murad II, with the finest early Ottoman Iznik blue-and-white tiles inside.
• Edirne Museum – A provincial museum beside the Selimiye Mosque, displaying Thracian archaeological finds and Ottoman folk life.
• Karaağaç Station & Lausanne Monument – A former Orient Express station, now the administrative building of Trakya University; the Lausanne Treaty monument and museum stand in fro…
• Saraçhane Bridge – A 15th-century Ottoman stone bridge over the Tunca River, which together with the Kanuni and Gazi Mihal bridges forms a riverside walking r…
• Macedonian Tower – The surviving tower of the Roman city walls of Hadrianopolis; the archaeological site outside openly displays ancient walls and Byzantine c…
• Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen – A 19th-century Bulgarian Orthodox church, restored with Bulgarian funding and reopened, reflecting Edirne's multi-ethnic history.

Where to eat

• Ciğerci Niyazi Usta – A leading Edirne fried liver restaurant in a traditional Edirne house just outside the Ortakapı gate of Ali Pasha Bazaa…
• Aydın Tava Ciğer – One of Edirne's most reviewed fried liver spots, on a lane of the Tahmis Bazaar in the old town, busy almost all day.
• Ciğerci Kemal Usta – A small fried liver shop just outside the Ortakapı gate of Ali Pasha Bazaar, operating since the 1980s, with generous p…
• Balkan Piliç Lokantası – A hugely popular home-style eatery in the city centre, known for the rotisserie chicken in the window and stews cooked…

Itineraries

• Istanbul, Edirne and Gallipoli in – Istanbul's classic sights, plus a day in Edirne and one night at the Gallipoli battlefields, wrapping up on the Asian s…