While walking around Edirne, I was
surprised by the number of old, stone bridges (köprü) – at least nine –
that we crossed.
Some of the city’s bridges
even were designed by the famed Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. (The Süleymaniye
Camii in Istanbul is one of his famous works too.) However, we
crossed over Sinan’s bridges during our morning run sans camera. In his
lifetime, Sinan reportedly designed and built 81 mosques, 51 bridges, 35 hamam,
18 caravanserais,
many aqueducts, hospitals and more. Amazing!
On Saturday afternoon, we
walked in a southerly direction from our hotel and first crossed the Tunca
(Ekmekcizade Ahmet Paşa) Köprüsü which is over the Tunca Nehri
(River). The bridge, built between 1608-1613, was designed by architect Mimar
Mehmet Ağa, who may have been one of Sinan’s students.
About 10 minutes later, we
walked across the Meriç Köprüsü, which is one of the city’s “newer”
bridges, with construction started in 1842 and completed in 1847. It measures
263 meters, 7 meters wide (barely enough room for 2 cars) and has 12 lancet
stone arches.
On the other side of this
bridge are several restaurants. We decided to enjoy a cold pint of Efes beer while we watched another Turkish
sunset along the Meriç Nehri. The Emirgan Aile Çay Bahçesi,
located on Karaağaç Yolu, was the perfect place to do just that.
If you don’t feel like
walking back into town, there are several horse-drawn carriages. Of course,
when we were ready to leave, none were available.
Another sight to explore
while in Edirne is the Makedonya (Saat) Kulesi ve Kentsel Arkeoloji
Parkı which translates to the Castle Macedonia (Clock) Tower and Urban
Archaeological Park.
The only structure still
standing here is one of the initial four towers of the ancient city walls built
during the reign of Roman Emperor Hadrianus (117-138 AD). The tower is located
near the Üç Şerefeli Camii. After conquering the Thracian tribes in this
area, the emperor renamed this city Hadrianopolis.
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| The Makedonya (Saat) Kulesi in Edirne, Turkey. |
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| Remains of an ancient pottery oven. |
The area surrounding the
tower includes some ancient ruins that have been excavated in recent years, but
sadly are not being maintained very well. However, the area is still worth a
visit!
Edirne is just a short car
or bus-ride away from Istanbul,
making it an easy weekend get-away.
How to get there by bus:
If you do not have a car,
the easiest way to reach to Edirne is by intercity bus from Istanbul. Several
bus companies, such as Metro Turizm and Ulusoy, run buses from Istanbul’s Esenler Otogar everyday to Edirne. The trip takes about 2 hours and
40 minutes. Here is a list of more Turkish bus
companies.
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