Edirne Part 1

Erdine is a town with aprox. 150.000 inhabitants. It lays at the Turkish-Bulgarian-Greek Border.
It easily can be reached by bus from Istanbul within 3 hours. Taking the train to Edirne from Istanbul takes around 4,5 hours.



Things to see in Edirne

Since, Edirne isn't that big you can see most sights in the city center. They can be reached by walking.
Firstly, you should take a look at the Edirne Tourist information. It is located at the Talat Pasa Cd., at the corner to the Maarif Cd., beside the "3.Noter". There you can find not only information about Edirne, but also about whole Turkey.

Edirne Tourist Information

Just some steps further, is the the Grand Bazaar of Edirne located.
There you can find many things like souvenirs,sweets and clothes. Edirne is famous for it's fruit shaped soaps and it's almond sweets.

Edirne's Grand Baazar just opened in the moring

Edirne's famous fruit soaps, not only look cute but also shred a nice fragrance

After visiting the the Baazar, why don't you take a stroll at the main shopping street of Edirne? Or you can try the famous Edirne köfte or liver. Restaurants and snack bars can be easily found everywhere in the city.

The Selimiye mosque was build by the famous architect Mimar Sinan between 1569 and 1575. Unfortunately, Sultan Selim II, who commissioned the mosque could never see the completed work. He died already one year before the finishing, in 1574.
Mimar Sinan, sees the Selimiye mosque as his own masterpiece, and truly, it's one of the highest creations of the Islamic architecture.

The mosque and it's adjoining buildings belong, since 2011, to the UNESCO-World Heritage.
The 4 minarets are 71m high and the diameter of the dome is 31,28m. A part of the famous tiles inside the mosques, were brought to Russia during the Russian occupation of Edirne in 1878.
To the building complex also belong a baazar, a Turkish bath, a medrese, clinic and a grave yard.

The Selimiye mosque

The Selimiye mosque's Baazar

Beside the Selimiye mosque is the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art located.
There you can get information about techniques of various crafts and arts.
The entrance fee of the Museum is currently 5 TL and the visiting hours are everyday except Mondays from 9.00-18.30.
Location: Zehrimar Cami Sk, Edirne Center

The Museum's atrium

In my next post amongst other things, I will write about:
The Edirne city Museum
The old mosque
The old macedonian Tower

Bursa

Bursa is the is the forth largest city in Turkey.
If you are visiting Istanbul and you have some time, I recommend you to visit Bursa too.
It can easily reached by ferry boat. After using the ferry boat you need to get a bus or taxi ( which will be rather expensive)to get to Bursa. The bus ride from the ferry terminal to the center takes around 45 Minutes. You may check ferry boat schedule and prices on the webpage of the IDO ferry boat service . If you book early, you can get cheap promotional tickets. IDO ferry boat service



In Bursa you can take a city tour Bus for 5 TL for a single tour or for 20 TL a day ticket. The tour lasts around 1 hour. The tour starts and ends at the Bursa City gate. There is a special bus stop for the Tour bus and nearby, you can also find a Tourist information centre (Across the street, beside a small park).
The tour passed and stops and all main sights of Bursa. So, I really recommend you to take the tour.

Bursa city tour information



Things to see in Bursa:


The Great Mosque (Ulu Camii) in the center of Bursa was build between 1396 and 1399. The mosque was build in selcuk style and has two minarets. Inside the mosque around 190 calligraphic inscriptions can be seen.

The Koza Hani, the silk bazaar of Bursa, close to the Great mosque offers the change to buy inexpensive silk products.
If you don't want to buy anything, just take a stroll and then enjoy the beautiful atmosphere of the old Caravanserai, while drinking a chai in the courtyard of the Koza Hani.

The Green Mosque (Yeşil Camii) and the Green Tomb (Yeşil Türbe). Yeşil Türbe is a mausoleum of the fifth Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed I. It has an interesting hexagonal architecture and outside it is covered in green tiles, which give the tomb it's name.
Yeşil Mosque is in the opposite of the tomb. Both were build by the architect, Hacı Ivaz Pasha.
The mosque was built in the 15. Century mainly out of stone and marble. The beautiful interior of the mosque is covered with green blueish tiles.
Due to the death of the Sultan Mehmed I.in 1421 the mosque was never really finished and is missing of the planned atrium.
None the less the Yeşil Camii is one of the most beautiful and distinguished mosques in Bursa.

From the centre of Bursa it's possible to walk to the The Green Mosque and the Green Tomb. It takes around 20 Minutes.
Just walk until the end of the Atatürk Cd.. (If you pass a Clock tower, you will know you are walking in the right direction :)).
At the end of the Atatürk Cd. you should take a left turn into the Yeşil Cd.

Bursa City Museum
To get to know Bursa and it's history better, it's recommend to visit the Bursa City Museum. It is also situated at the Atatürk Cd.
The Museum can be visited every day except Mondays from 9.30-17.30.
Address: Atatürk Caddesi, No:8, 16020 BURSA
Close to the Museum is a square with a big Atatürk monument.

Erdek- Kapıdağ Peninsula and the Kuşcenneti National Park

Erdek is a small town, with approx. 21000 inhabitants, on the Kapıdağ Peninsula at the Sea of Marmara.
Erdek is a very convenient travel destination if you would like to run away from the busy life in Istanbul and Bursa for a few days, if you can't or don't want to travel far.
In summer the town is full, of mostly Turkish tourists, but it is not over crowded and the prices are moderate.


Sights and things to do:

You can enjoy swimming or discover the nature of the Kapıdağ Peninsula.
If you like the nature and camping, I would like to recommend to stay at the Ant Camping.. They speak English and German and offer free wifi.

But Erdek and the surrounding villages offer various places to stay: Hotels, Pensions and holiday homes.

The remains of the ancient city of Cyzicus can be seen nearby Erdek. Currently, there is no entrance fee as the sight is still an active archaeological excavation.

On the small islet Zeytin Adası (in front of shore of Erdek), are some ruins, including a temple.

There are two farmers markets in Erdek. One is Saturday 8(close to the stadium of Erdek) and the other is Mondays(Not far from the centre and bus station, nearby the hamam).

The hamam opens for women on Tuesday and Friday and the other days for men. The working hours are from 7.00-23.00.

If you like to party, it is no problem, as you can find various discos and bar, which are opened during the summer time.

The Marmara island, Avşa, Ekinlik and Balıklı islands can be reach via a ferry, which departs from Erdek port, in the centre of the town. In summer the ferry leaves Erdek 3 times.
The winter time table of 2015 and prices can be found here.


Kuşcenneti Milli Parkı
If you travel by car, you can visit the Lake Kuş or Lake Manyas, which is around 20km away from Bandirma. The lake is a national park (Kuşcenneti Milli Parkı) and it's not only possible to observe various bird species but there is a small information hall, where you can find various information.
Opening times are from 9.00-18.00 and the entrance fee is around 4 TL.
Directions from Bandirma:
Follow the Susurluk Yolu/D565 until you have to turn right to Kuşcenneti Köyü and then follow the directions of the signs.

Kuşcenneti Milli Parkı

Ruins of kyzikos

Transportation:

By ferry
From Istanbul fast ferries depart daily to Bandirma. The travel time is approx. 120 Minutes.
From Bandirma it takes around 20 Minutes to Erdek by Dolmuş. (The Dolmuş stop is nearby the port and in summer it runs every 15-20 Minutes)

By bus
There are also possibilities to go from Erdek to Tekirdag and to the Marmara island by ferry daily.
From the Erdek Bus station several times on a day buses from and to Istanbul, Bursa and other cities arrive and depart.

By train
Bandrima can be reached by train from Izmir

External information
The page Erdek turizm offers various useful information of Erdek in Turkish. The interactive maps helps you to find the different locations and give you a good overview of Erdek:
Erdek Turizm


Check the IDO ferry boat homepage for the time tabels to and from Bandirma:
IDO

Camping site

Beaches

Isthmus of Kapıdağ with the view torwards the mainland

View torwards Bandirma

Erdek

View torwards Kapıdağ as seen from Bandirma

Before you start a trip, check the provided information carefully, they may be outdated, time tables change sometimes quickly and unannounced. The information is supplied without liability.