The city is one the largest cities in Turkey with not much appeal for living there permanently. But for
a visitor, it has an Old Ottoman atmosphere to offer, at Yesil and neighborhood, at the quarter
where you may see tiny wooden Ottoman style old houses.
Another major attraction in town are the thermal baths. Most of the baths are part of a hotel. The
best bath, some dub it as the best Turkish Bath in Turkey, belongs to Kervansaray Termal, a 5 star
hotel.
The city is also famous for its Iskender Kebap, a revolving meat around a vertical axis and chestnut
sweet.
There is a "teleferik", cable car from the city to Uludag, the mountain with best ski resorts in Turkey.
The ride to the hills offers spectacular mountain scenery and a view of the Bursa plain which was
once a fertile land for agriculture, now full of manufacturing facilities from different industries.
Gelibolu was the battleground of the biggest wars of World War 1 and this century. About half a million people on both sides
have wouded or dead here. Gelibolu is located on the Canakkale Bogazi (Dardanelles) straights.
The war was fought by Ottomans against the Allied forces led by the British Empire. A young Ottoman officer,
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk has led a great battle against the invaders and has created a miracle by stopping a huge
force by the small troops he had under his command. The war is commemorated every year on the 18 March 1915.
Nowadays the area offers a peaceful scenery of the sea, forest and hills. In many parts of the regions you can
see battleground marks, and cemeteries of the Turkish and Allied sites (New Zealand, Australia, English).
There are sand beaches on both sides of the peninsula.
Edirne was the capital of the Ottoman Empire before Istanbul. The city is a border city, neigboring Greece and Bulgaria,
The greatest work of art of Mimar Sinan, the great architect, Suleymaniye is here. Eski Cami (Old Mosque),
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum and Archeological museum are other places worth visiting. All these
places are walking distance from each other, and in fact the city center is pretty compact.
Edirne is right by the Meric river, and offers nice forest and river scenes. You can have lunch in one of the restaurants
by the river side. The cities main economical interest lies in farming and raising sheep. The meat quality
is excellent. Fried liver and meatballs shops are abundant and Edirne residenst claim to serve
the best fried liver in the country.
There aren't many star hotels available in the city. The city has a nice, peaceful, Old Turkish character and a day
visit to Edirne from Istanbul would be pleasant.
Guide
Bursa
