Overlooked by most travelers in their rush to reach Ýstanbul, Trakya (Thrace), the tiny segment of European Turkey tucked up in the northwest where the country joins Greece and Bulgaria, was once considerably more important than it is today. Edirne (then Adrianople) set the tone for things when it replaced Bursa as the Ottoman capital after its capture in 1365. It was from the Eski Saray (Old Palace) in Edirne that Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Mehmet the Conqueror) planned his attack on Constantinople (Ýstanbul), and even after he had accomplished his task and moved the capital eastwards, he and his successors continued to have a soft spot for the part of the country which had offered a launching pad for the venture. In particular, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman (Süleyman the Magnificent) poured the riches of his empire into beautifying Trakya, commissioning the great architect Sinan to adorn it with wonderful mosque complexes and graceful bridges, many of which still survive today amid the industrial build-up.

Heading out of Ýstanbul, it takes a good three-quarters of an hour to bypass the sprawl of the metropolis, where new housing developments like the horrifying Bizim Evler call to mind the dormitory settlements ringing the old Soviet cities. Not long afterwards, you arrive in Çorlu, an industrial city of almost 200,000 people that was presumably a great deal more beautiful in the days when it was the Roman town of Cenopurio, of which nothing seems to remain, barring one wretched column capital perched on the steps of the Atatürk Cultural Center. More mysterious is the complete disappearance of the külliye (mosque complex) designed by Sinan and bestowed on the town by Süleyman the Magnificent. Instead, the mosque that bears the sultan´s name today is the small Süleymaniye Cami, a work of the far less well-known mimar (architect), Kasým, dating back to 1521.

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When I read this I find it a pity these places are not mentioned in leading travel books! Come on Turkey, advertise your hidden gems more!

Nice article Trudy)I was to Edirne once being totally enchanted with the beauty of the mosque and the voice of ezan,he did special vocal performance for us,which was extremely nice of him.I can confirm that Trakya is worth visiting, one of the University buildings  In Edirne is an old railway station adopted to its needs with nice surrounding and you brought my memories back to the Health Museum,incredible exhibition with a lot of pictures and medical tools.

Recommended))))