• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
The Travels of BBQboy and Spanky

The Travels of BBQboy and Spanky

  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Destinations
    • EUROPE (A to M)
      • ALBANIA
      • AUSTRIA
      • BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
      • BULGARIA
      • CROATIA
      • CZECH REPUBLIC
      • FRANCE
      • GERMANY
      • GREECE
      • HUNGARY
      • ITALY
      • MOLDOVA
      • MONTENEGRO
    • EUROPE (N to Z)
      • NORTH MACEDONIA
      • POLAND
      • PORTUGAL
      • ROMANIA
      • SERBIA
      • SLOVAKIA
      • SLOVENIA
      • SPAIN
      • SWITZERLAND
      • TURKEY
      • UKRAINE
    • CAUCASUS
      • ARMENIA
      • GEORGIA
    • ASIA
      • CAMBODIA
      • HONG KONG
      • INDONESIA
      • JAPAN
      • LAOS
      • MALAYSIA
      • PHILIPPINES
      • THAILAND
      • TAIWAN
      • SINGAPORE
    • NORTH AMERICA
      • MONTREAL, QUEBEC
      • REGIONS OF QUEBEC, CANADA
      • MEXICO
        • Pueblos Magicos of Mexico
      • U.S.A
    • CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
      • COSTA RICA
      • CUBA
      • DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
      • GUATEMALA
      • NICARAGUA
    • SOUTH AMERICA
      • ARGENTINA
      • BRAZIL
      • CHILE
      • COLOMBIA
    • AFRICA
      • SOUTH AFRICA
      • MOROCCO
      • TUNISIA
      • ZAMBIA
      • ZIMBABWE
    • OCEANIA
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
  • Topics
    • Hikes & Adventures
    • Expat Corner
    • The Best and Worst
    • This or That
    • Looking Back…
    • Blogging & Bloggers
    • Deep Thoughts
    • rants & things that suck
    • plane & train travel
    • Airbnb
    • Travel Accessories
    • religion, morality, patriotism
  • Travel Diaries
  • Resources
  • Work with Us

s

What to See in Edirne (Turkey). And why it makes for a great stop between Bulgaria and Istanbul

What to See in Edirne (Turkey)
What to See in Edirne (Turkey).

We are really happy to have visited Edirne.

Visiting Edirne was a last minute add on meant to break up the trip from Plovdiv to Istanbul. It isn’t the easiest place to get to (which I wrote about getting from Plovdiv to Edirne here) but is well worth a short visit. We were there two nights, allowing a full-day to explore this small city.

The highlights are three incredible mosques in the center of town, all within easy walking distance from each other. Even if you’ve been to Istanbul you’ll be wowed by these mosques – they might be among the most beautiful mosques you see in Turkey.

 

Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii), Edirne

 


 

 

A little history

– The area around Edirne, because of its strategic position on the major routes to Istanbul, the Bosphorus, and onward to Asia, had been repeatedly fought for in the past. It has been the site of no fewer than 16 major battles and sieges since the days of Ancient Greece.
– Edirne was first founded by the Romans as the city of Adrianople (Hadrianoupolis), i.e. “City of Hadrianus”, named after the Roman emperor Hadrian.
– When it was captured by the Ottomans in the 14th century it became their capital. It was here that the Ottomans planned their attack on Constantinople (present day Istanbul). In the 15th century the Ottomans defeated the Byzantines in Constantinople and the capital was moved there.
– Between 1700 and 1750 Edirne was one of the most populated cities in Europe with a population of about 350,000 people. Several wars with Russia in the 1800’s, the Balkans wars in the late 1800’s, then WWII resulted in massive depopulation. Today’s population is about 140,000.

 

 

The “Big 3”Mosques of Edirne


Selimiye Mosque
 (Selimiye Camii)

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this mosque (built between 1568 – 1575) stands on the highest point in town. It is a colossal mosque with an expansive interior and the 2nd highest minaret in the world. It has 999 windows. The Blue Mosque in Istanbul is actually a copy based on Selimiye which is considered the zenith of Ottoman architecture.

 

Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii) in Edirne, Turkey

Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii), Edirne, Turkey

Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii), Edirne

 


 

 

Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii) interior, Edirne

Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii), Edirne

Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii)

Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii), Turkey

 


 

 

 

Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Cami)

A short walk from Selimiye, we loved this mosque. It has 4 minarets, a beautiful courtyard and 22 very colourful tiled porches. It is older than Selimeye having been built between 1438 – 1447. The interior is not as expansive as Selimeye’s but it is colourful and “happy”. Üç Şerefeli might actually have been my favorite of the 3 mosques.

 

Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Cami), Edirne

Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Cami), Edirne

Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Cami), Edirne

Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Cami)

 


 

 

Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Cami), Edirne

Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Cami)

Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Cami), Edirne, Turkey

Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Cami), Edirne

 


 

 

Old Mosque (Eski Cami)

This is the oldest (completed in 1414) and smallest of the mosques. It is distinctive for the large calligraphy on the walls. Unlike the other mosques that have 1 large dome, the Old Mosque is actually made up of 9 smaller ones.

 

Old Mosque (Eski Cami), Edirne

Old Mosque (Eski Cami), Edirne, Turkey

Old Mosque (Eski Cami), Edirne

Old Mosque (Eski Cami)
Old Mosque (Eski Cami), Edirne, Turkey. What to see

All 3 mosques are stunning and you can easily spend several hours in the mosques, their courtyards, and the gardens surrounding them. Magnificent.

 


 

 

Other attractions in Central Edirne

Right behind the Old Mosque is the Old Quarter (Kaleiçi, i.e. “walled city”). Having just arrived from Bulgaria it was interesting walking around this maze of small streets. You’ll see traditional wooden buildings, cafés, baklava shops, and squares centred around fountains.

 

Old Quarter in Edirne, Turkey

Old Quarter in Edirne, Turkey

 

Outside Central Edirne


The 2nd most visited attraction in Edirne (after Selimiye Mosque) is the complex of Sultan Bayezid II Mosque and Health Museum. It was a mental institution during Ottoman times and was known for its progressive approach to treating mental health (which included meditative music). The museum was awarded the “European Museum of the Year” award in the early 2000’s.

 

views on Edirne, Turkey

 

We didn’t spent a lot of time in Edirne but it gave us a first taste of Turkey. It’s funny – the town is only 20 km from the Bulgarian border but feels like a world away. Suddenly you’re eating in restaurants where there’s no alcohol on the menu, walking by cafés where only men are seated, and finding those incredible baklava shops (we got addicted to baklava in Turkey).

 

Baklava in Turkey

 


 

 

Practical Information

How to Get to Edirne.

Tour. You can take a day trip to see Edirne from Istanbul.

Accommodation: We stayed at the EdrinOtel. It was ok. The room was actually great, the bedding unfortunately wasn’t (small, crispy sheets). It has a nice restaurant downstairs which is very good. It is also well situated and you can get to the 3 mosques in about 10 minutes. The only negative was the uncomfortable bedding and smoke coming in from neighbours who puffed from their windows (everyone in Turkey seems to smoke). A step up is the Hotel Edirne Palace which is even better located and gets great reviews.

Tourist Information Center. Jeez. We’ve never been at a Tourist Information Center where nobody speaks English. We’ve been told that there’s a helpful man who works (worked?) there who spoke English. The Tourist Office is close to the big “Edirne” sign.

 


 

 

Related: What to see (and what to skip) in Istanbul

Related: Why Antalya disappointed us

 

PS. Looking to book flights, hotels, tours, or rent a car? Have a look at our Travel Resources page.

 

If you haven’t subscribed yet and want to get our posts and newsletters sent to your email, just insert your email address below

Great! Thank you for subscribing. If you don't receive a confirmation email, please check your Spam box.

Filed Under: LATEST POSTS, TURKEY

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Corinne

    May 20, 2019 at 10:46 pm

    I love Turkey! Edirne is not on most people’s list, and it should be. It’s such a small but vibrant Turkish city. We loved it when we visited. The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was their signature local dish, liver. However all the other foods were amazing! Who doesn’t fall in love with Baklava?

    Reply
    • Frank (bbqboy)

      May 21, 2019 at 3:50 pm

      When I was working we had a Greek vendor who would bring us baklava every Christmas. I absolutely hated it, it was thick and dry. Couldn’t eat the stuff. So I had an idea about Baklava that was totally shattered when we went to Turkey. Got addicted to it 🙂

      Reply
  2. Andrew Boland

    May 20, 2019 at 11:18 am

    superb photo of the sunset! Looks like an amazing place.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sidebar


Hi! We are Frank & Lissette from Canada. We sold our home in 2014 and have been travelling the world ever since.

About Us

Interested in Spain? See Mapping Spain, our new website that focuses exclusively on Spain

Follow us on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · The Travels of BBQboy and Spanky · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy

Nerja