Eastern Thrace travel guide - Wikitravel Istranca Mountains and Black Sea coast[ edit ] Lush mountains, lakes, and desolate beaches Demirköy — a town surrounded by forests up in Istranca Mountains, known for its 15th century foundry İğneada — long and sandy beaches where you'll have a hard time seeing someone else in the next kilometre, bakced by lush forests, and many lakes Kıyıköy — still widely known by its traditional name of Midye among locals, this is a town with many traditional wooden houses, preserved city walls, and a monastery carved into rocks Vize — town on the foothills of Istranca Mountains not very far from Black Sea coast, known for its Byzantine cathedral-turned-mosque called Little Hagia Sophia Thracian Plains[ edit ] Gently rolling plains covering interior of the region; with towns, most of which have some artifacts dating back to Ottoman period, lying on the major routes between Istanbul and Europe Babaeski — a town with an old mosque and a medieval bridge spanning a creek flowing through a tranquil, green meadow Çerkezköy — city with much industry Çorlu — newly emerging major city of the region, with

 even more industry Edirne — the second capital of Ottoman Empire, chock full of history, even Selimiye Mosque alone is well worth the trip to this beautiful city Keşan — a city in the western part of the region, near Greek border; located on an important crossroad Kırklareli — a city in the north, near Bulgarian border, with a quite well preserved old quarter full of traditional wooden and neo-classical architecture Lüleburgaz — geographical center of Eastern Thrace with a sixteenth century mosque and accompanying covered bazaar Uzunköprü — name of which translates “long bridge” in Turkish, this town has one of the longest stone bridges in the world (more than 2 km), which was built by Sinan, the Ottoman architect of 16th century.

Marmara and Aegean coasts[ edit ] Miles of beaches, stony and sandy, crowded and lonely alike; fishing towns, vineyards, and pine forests here and there Eceabat — main town on Gallipoli Peninsula, serving as a hub to WWI memorials Enez — a small town on the Maritsa delta, where Maritsa River empties into the Aegean Sea; a quite well-preserved Byzantine citadel and long sandy beaches are the main attractions Gelibolu — historical town on the Straits of Dardanelles, at the base of the peninsula known by the same name (Gallipoli) Kumbağ — main nightlife spot of Eastern Thrace, with some kitschy bars and (overcrowded) beaches Marmara Ereğlisi — site of ancient city of Perinthos, once administrative centre of the region, now a small town Şarköy & Mürefte — these pleasant towns are at the centre of the wine country of the region, with nice beaches and some Greek architecture left from the former inhabitants Silivri — a town rapidly changing into a suburb of Istanbul Tekirdağ — pleasant coastal city with some traditional wooden architecture, and where 18

th century Hungarian independence leader, Ferenc Rakoczi II, was exiled Geographically speaking, the city of Istanbul is also partially in Eastern Thrace, but culturally it is a world afar and should be considered as a region on its own.

Other destinations[ edit ] Dupnisa Cave — deep in the forest on the Istranca Mountains, an impressive and easily visitable cave with an underground creek, stalactites, and bats Gallipoli — site of 1915 Anzac landing and many WWI memorials; in the southwest of the region Saros Bay — an indentation of Aegean Sea between Thracian mainland and Gallipoli peninsula, popular among scuba divers as this gulf is one of the cleanest and liveliest (in terms of marine ecology) bodies of water in all of Turkey Islands[ edit ] Gökçeada (Imbros) — the largest Turkish island, home of a Greek community and abandoned villages Marmara Island — although nearer to Asian mainland, this island has extensive transportation and cultural links with Eastern Thrace; site of a marble quarry with unfinished Roman sculptures and picturesque villages Understand[ edit ] Eastern Thrace is located in the northwestern corner of Turkey and makes up 3% of the country’s landmass. Although this percentage might seem small at first, Eastern Thrace is only slightly smaller than whole of Belgium , for example.

Eastern Thrace is essentially a peninsula surrounded by Greece ( Western Thrace ) and Bulgaria ( Northern Thrace ) to the west and north respectively and bouded by Black Sea, Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles, and the Aegean Sea to the northeast, east, south, and southwest respectively. Central parts of Eastern Thrace are dominated by Thracian plains, which are fairly...well, plain. These plains produce much of the country's wheat and sunflower, and a ride through in sunflower season (July) is indeed very pleasant amongst yellow flowers. However, being one of the powerhouses of Turkish economy, more east you go on the plains, less agricultural the landscape becomes—around Çerkezköy and north, west, and east of Çorlu is essentially nothing other than urban conglomeration going hand in hand with endless rows of factories. Northeastern coast and its adjacent area, on the other hand, is dominated by low-lying range of Istranca Mountains covered with lush broadleaf forests, typical of Turkish Black Sea coast, as well as the northern reaches of the region along the Bulgarian border.

Southwestern parts dominated by Ganos and Koru Mountains, another low lying mountain range, and Gallipoli Peninsula are covered mostly with pine forests, in addition to vast vineyards on the foothils of Ganos Mountain, which supply almost half of Turkey's wine production. Culture of today’s Eastern Thrace shares many similarities with cultures of Balkan (Southeastern Europe) countries as much of the region’s population is descendants of people who immigrated from those countries starting from late 1800s to the date. Eastern Thrace is a part of Marmara Region . History[ edit ] Thracians, an ancient people speaking an Indo-European language and whom the larger area surrounding the region was named after (which derived from the Thracian Zrayka) were the native folk of the region. Except a brief period during Odrysian Kingdom (5th–3rd century BC), these warrior tribes never formed a united nation.

Except for landmark-ish tumulii, which they erected for their nobles as monumental tombs, not much other than some ruins and artifacts hardly distinguishable from natural formations by untrained eyes is left physically from this period, although some villages and rivers across the region still carry names that are phonetically corrupted forms of their original Thracian names. Around 4000 BC, Greek colonists from Aegean Islands made their debut in the region along the Marmara coast, although never succeed to penetrate much inland due to opposition of vicious Thracian tribes. Some of the cities Greeks founded in the region still exist to this day, such as Tekirdağ . Around 335 BC, Alexander the Great—part of army of whom was actually consisted of Thracian troops—showed up in the region on his way to India . It was the Romans—who took over the region around the early years of Christ—who first truly united the region into a single authority and named it the province of Thracia. Since the region was on the main route (named Via Egnatia) between the later Roman capital of Constantinople and Rome , the other major city of the empire, it never fell into a backwater status.

After the Roman Empire was divided in two, Eastern Thrace consecutively changed hands between Bulgarian Kingdom and Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, several times in 10th century CE. Ottoman Turks set foot in around 1350s for the first time in Thrace (and in Europe ). Eastern Thrace was mainly the warehouse and breadbasket of the imperial capital of Constantinople during this period in addition to its strategic importance stemmed from the fact that it lies on the major routes between the capital and its European possessions. During the turmoil before, during, and after WWI, local Greeks and Bulgarians, who formed a substantial part of region's population, emigrated to Greece and Bulgaria respectively, and replaced in return by Turkish/Muslim immigrants from mostly Greece and Bulgaria, but also from other Balkan countries. 1950s also saw a Jewish emigration from the region towards newly-founded Israel . Climate[ edit ] While being not a very large region, Eastern Thrace has a variety of different climate types that lie close to but are substantially different from each other.

Inland areas have temperate continental climate that is similar to that found in inland regions of Balkans , while milder climate of places on the Black Sea coast resembles more of an oceanic climate, typical to other areas of Turkish Black Sea coast . Climate of areas on Marmara and Aegean coasts is similar to the Mediterranean climate, though strong winds carry continental influences easily down to coast, making it much colder than it might be, considering its fairly southern latitude. In general, no matter where you are heading in the region, consider these facts when planning your trip: It can rain in any season, including summer, but summer showers tend to last no more than 15–20 minutes, no matter how heavy they may be (and they tend to be heavy). Other than sudden cloud formations before showers, it tend to be sunny throughout the summer, though. Haze and (sometimes very heavy) fog is common in autumn, especially in November. Winters are cloudy, mostly rainy (or perhaps, sleety), cold and windy in the region—it's no wonder that ancient Greeks considered Thrace to be the homeland of Boreaus, the god of cold northern winds.

While the temperature usually does not drop below -10°C (although there is a record low of -24°C in 1940s infamous for their cold), it feels much colder than it actually is, due to the high-ish relative humidity in the region. It snows every winter, too, and it stays on the ground for at least a few days—more in inland locations than the coast, as expected. Talk[ edit ] Turkish is the language of choice in the region, as elsewhere in Turkey. The local dialect is loaded with slang and other colloquially used words mainly originating from other Balkan languages (mainly Bulgarian), but this won’t be a problem if you can speak Turkish as local folk mostly avoids using them (or “translates” them into standard Turkish) when they see you’re non-local. Also, the local dialect is one of the most similar dialects to standard Turkish (which is based on Istanbul dialect). The most frequent foreign language is English. Thousands of immigrants from Bulgaria, who were settled in the region in late 1980s/early 1990s, means that finding someone who speaks fluent Bulgarian is also a possibility (albeit a minor possibility).

Get in[ edit ] There are four border posts with Bulgaria (one rail, others highway) and three border posts with Greece (one rail, others highway), most of which are located on the banks of Maritsa River (Turkish: Meriç, Greek: Evros), which forms most of the Greco-Turkish border. The major ones are Dereköy north of Kırklareli (highway crossing into the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast ), Kapıkule west of Edirne (known as Kapitan Andreevo on the other side of the border, highway crossing into Central Bulgaria , which can have quite long queues in summer), Uzunköprü (railway crossing into northeastern Greece ) and İpsala west of Keşan (highway crossing into northeastern Greece). There are trains [1] and buses crossing any of these border posts. The region is also well connected to Istanbul by highways and a motorway (toll-road), buses and trains. It’s even possible to find a direct bus from Istanbul to a village well off-the-beaten-path.

Please note that all trains to the region departs at European station (Sirkeci) of Istanbul, not Haydarpasa, the Asian one There are two international airports in the region: Ataturk Airport of Istanbul and Corlu Airport (though Corlu Airport is reserved for flights from ex-Soviet countries only). There is also a substantial number of ferries connecting towns and cities located on the southern and northern (Thracian) coasts of the Sea of Marmara. By bus/minibus[ edit ] All cities in the region are connected to each other by bus, and smaller towns have minibus connections to nearby bigger towns and cities. There are also many (relatively) long-haul inter-town dolmuş lines in the region started recently, such as between Keşan and Çerkezköy via Tekirdağ and Çorlu or between Gelibolu and Silivri , via Tekirdağ and Marmara Ereğlisi . These are faster and slightly more expensive than buses.

By train[ edit ] The only line out of Istanbul ’s European station (Sirkeci) splits into two near Babaeski , one of them continues towards Bulgaria and the other one towards Greece , there is at least one daily train (both local and international) operating in each line. As the railline wasn’t laid down as straight as the highways, train journeys take more time than bus/car travel. By car[ edit ] The main highways of the region radiate out of Istanbul and generally follow a straight line towards Greek and Bulgarian borders, and Aegean Sea. Here is a list of the road numbers of main highways of the region and the notable towns and cities located along: D550/E87 after splitting from D100 near Edirne : Uzunkopru – Keşan – Gallipoli to Çanakkale (as D550/E87/E90) D555/E87 after splitting from D100 near Babaeski : Kirklareli to Bulgaria All roads in the region, even those leading to far away villages, are sealed, although pavement quality and road breadth varies according to how important and busy the road is.

By thumb[ edit ] The major crossroad with traffic lights near Keşan is probably number one hitchhiker’s paradise in the region as there are major roads leading to all cardinal directions there, and all vehicles have to stop (or at least slow down) because of traffic lights. And there are lots of vehicles, day or night. And as a bonus, there is a huge supermarket nearby to replenish the supplies. It’s even possible to get a lift all the way to Ukraine or Italy or Iran there (judging from the plate numbers of the trucks). See[ edit ][ add listing ] This region was important during Ottoman times, both because it was Istanbul’s hinterland, and also because it was on the road between Istanbul, empire’s capital city, and the European possessions of the empire. Therefore almost all towns and cities in the region has an important landmark, such as a bridge, an inn, or a mosque (or sometimes all of them) built by Sinan, the famous Ottoman architect of 16th century. Be sure to check them out. The Tumulii (sing. tumulus), ancient Thracian burial mounds for their kings and nobles. These are man-made hills all over the region.

Dolmens and related menhirs which date back to paleolithic. Scattered around the area to the north of Edirne , near Lalapaşa and Süleoğlu . Do[ edit ][ add listing ] Do a wine-tasting trip in the Şarköy - Mürefte area (SW of Tekirdağ ). Some tour companies based in Istanbul offer such day-trips in autumn (fall). You can also organize a trip by yourself if you have a car at your disposal. Many factories in the area accept walk-in wine-tasters for a token fee. Should you have a chance, don’t miss to attend a traditional wedding feast (düğün), especially in the villages, where beer, raki, and wine flow like rivers. This region has one of the most colourful wedding ceremonies in Turkey, with Balkan tunes. No need to be invited. Thrace | region, Europe | Britannica.com Thrace Thrace, Modern Greek Thráki, Latin Thracia, ancient and modern region of the southeastern Balkans . Néstos River, western Thrace, Greece. © Panos Karapanagiotis/Shutterstock.com The historical boundaries of Thrace have varied.

To the ancient Greeks it was that part of the Balkans between the Danube River to the north and the Aegean Sea to the south, being bounded on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara and on the west by the mountains east of the Vardar (Modern Greek: Axiós or Vardárais) River. The Roman province of Thrace was somewhat smaller, having the same eastern maritime limits and being bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains; the Roman province extended west only to the Néstos River. Since Roman times, Greek Macedonia to the west has been separated from Greek Thrace by the Néstos. The portion of Thrace that is now part of Greece is bounded by the Néstos River to the west, the Rhodope (Rodópi) Mountain s to the north, and the Maritsa (also called Évros) River to the east. The southern part of Bulgaria and European Turkey, including the Gallipoli Peninsula, constitute the remainder of the geographical region of Thrace. About one-fourth of Thrace lies in Turkey , about one-tenth in Greece , and the remainder in Bulgaria .

Topographically, Thrace alternates between mountain-enclosed basins of varying size and deeply cut river valley s. A wide plateau extends southward from the Rhodope Mountains and separates the lowlands along the Maritsa River from the plains of western Thrace. A Mediterranean climate prevails in southern Thrace and is modified by continental influences in the Rhodope Mountains. The range of temperatures is greater in Thrace than in the southern Greek mainland; average temperatures in Alexandroúpoli (also spelled Alexandroúpolis) range from the low 40s F (about 6 °C) in January to the low 80s F (about 27 °C) in July. Rivers are reduced to trickles during the summer months, and they drain toward the Aegean. Lighthouse at Alexandroúpoli, Greece. Southeast Asia Ancient Greek and Roman historians agreed that the ancient Thracians , who were of Indo-European stock and language, were superior fighters; only their constant political fragmentation prevented them from overrunning the lands around the northeastern Mediterranean.

Although these historians characterized the Thracians as primitive partly because they lived in simple, open villages, the Thracians in fact had a fairly advanced culture that was especially noted for its poetry and music. Their soldiers were valued as mercenaries, particularly by the Macedonians and Romans. The Greeks founded several colonies on the Thracian coasts, the most notable being Byzantium. Others were on the Bosporus, Propontis, and Thracian Chersonese peninsula. On the Aegean were Abdera near the Néstos delta and Aenus near Alexandroúpoli. Farther north on the Black Sea’s Gulf of Burgas , the Milesians founded Apollonia (7th century bce), and the Chalcedonians founded Mesembria (end of the 6th century bce). Most Thracians became subject to Persia about 516–510 bce. Members of the Odrysae tribe briefly unified their fellow Thracians into an empire that in 360 bce split three ways and was quite easily assimilated (356–342) by Philip II of Macedon .

The Thracians provided Philip’s son, Alexander the Great , with valuable light-armed troops during his conquests. In 197, Rome assigned much of Thrace to the kingdom of Pergamum, though the coastal area west of the Maritsa was annexed to the Roman province of Macedonia. In the 1st century bce, Rome became more directly involved in the affairs of the whole region, and dynastic quarrels among the local Thracian rulers, who had by then become client kings of Rome, prompted the emperor Claudius I to annex the entire Thracian kingdom in 46 ce. Thrace was subsequently made into a Roman province. The emperor Trajan and his successor, Hadrian , founded cities in Thrace, notably Sardica (modern Sofia ) and Hadrianopolis (modern Edirne ). About 300 ce, Diocletian reorganized the area between the Lower Danube and the Aegean into the diocese of Thrace. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros.

Folds Its Tent From the 3rd to the 7th century the population of Thrace was altered greatly by repeated Gothic, Visigothic, and Slavic invasions and immigrations. In the 7th century the Bulgarian state was founded, and Byzantium consequently lost all Thrace north of the Balkan Mountains to the Bulgarians. Racked by Byzantine civil wars in the 14th century, Thrace fell piece by piece, up to 1453, to the Ottoman Turks, who ruled it for four centuries thereafter. Russian encroachments in the eastern Balkans culminated in the Russo-Turkish Wars (1828–29 and 1877–78), but Russia failed to create a “Greater Bulgaria” that would include the northern portions of Thrace at the expense of Turkey. The whole of Thrace therefore remained under Turkish domination. During the Balkan Wars (1912–13) Thrace suffered terribly.

After World War I the boundaries of Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey in Thrace were established by the treaties of Neuilly (1919), Sèvres (1920), and Lausanne (1923), and after World War II they remained unchanged. The Roman Empire As a result of wars and both forced and voluntary population exchanges, the ethnic character of Thrace became more homogeneous during the 20th century, although there are still large Turkish minorities in both Greek and Bulgarian Thrace. The Turks in Greek (Western) Thrace were excluded from the Greek-Turkish population exchange of 1923, while many of the resettled Greeks from Bulgaria and Turkey were settled in Western Thrace. A relatively small number of Turks from Bulgaria were resettled in Turkish (Eastern) Thrace. The Muslim population was exempted from repatriation to Turkey by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, but many emigrated after the appropriation of their land in 1924 and subsequently continued to emigrate because of deteriorating relations between Greece and Turkey.

The Greek population of Western Thrace has grown rapidly since 1923 and is now the dominant population group, generally enjoying a higher standard of living than the Turkish minority. Greek is gradually supplanting Turkish as the language of instruction even in Muslim schools. Tensions between Greeks and the remaining Muslims have led to occasional outbursts of intercommunal violence. Most Thracian Muslims are of Turkish ancestry and speak Turkish. The Pomaks, who are Muslims and speak a Bulgarian dialect , are concentrated along the border with Bulgaria. There is also a small group of sedentary Roma (Gypsies) who speak Romany and Turkish. Connect with Britannica Eastern Thrace | Article about Eastern Thrace by The Free Dictionary Eastern Thrace | Article about Eastern Thrace by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Wikipedia . Thrace (thrās), region, 3,310 sq mi (8,575 sq km), SE Europe, occupying the southeastern tip of the Balkan Peninsula and comprising NE Greece, S Bulgaria, and European Turkey. Its boundaries have varied in different periods.

It is washed by the Black Sea in the northeast and by the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea in the south. Land and Economy The Rhodope Mts. separate Greek from Bulgarian Thrace, and the Maritsa River (called the Évros in Greece) separates Greek from Turkish Thrace. The chief cities are İstanbul, Edirne (formerly Adrianople), and Gallipoli (all in Turkey); İstanbul (Constantinople) is generally considered a separate entity. With the exception of the mountainous Bulgarian section, Thrace is mainly agricultural, producing tobacco, corn, rice, wheat, silk, cotton, olive oil, and fruit. Natural gas has been discovered in the region. History Ancient and Medieval History At the dawn of history the ancient Thracians—a group of tribes speaking an Indo-European language—extended as far west as the Adriatic Sea, but they were pushed eastward (c.1300 B.C.) by the Illyrians, and in the 5th cent. B.C. they lost their land west of the Struma (Strimón) River to Macedon. In the north, however, Thrace at that period still extended to the Danube.

Unlike the Macedonians, the Thracians did not absorb Greek culture, and their tribes formed separate petty kingdoms. The Thracian Bronze Age was similar to that of Mycenaean Greece, and the Thracians had developed high forms of music and poetry, but their savage warfare led the Greeks to consider them barbarians. Many Greek colonies—e.g., Byzantium on the Hellespont and Tomi (modern Constanţa) on the Black Sea—were founded in Thrace by c.600 B.C. The Greeks exploited Thracian gold and silver mines, and they recruited Thracians for their infantry. Thrace was reduced to vassalage by Persia from c.512 B.C. to 479 B.C., and Persian customs were introduced. Thrace was united as a kingdom under the chieftain Sitalces, who aided Athens during the Peloponnesian War, but after his death (428 B.C.) the state again broke up. By 342 B.C. all Thrace was held by Philip II of Macedon, and after 323 B.C.

most of the country was in the hands of Lysimachus. It fell apart once more after Lysimachus' death (281 B.C.), and it was conquered by the Romans late in the 1st cent. B.C. Emperor Claudius created (A.D. 46) the province of Thrace, comprising the territory south of the Balkans; the remainder was incorporated into Moesia. The chief centers of Roman Thrace were Sardica (modern Sofia), Philippopolis (Plovdiv), and Adrianople (Edirne). The region benefited greatly from Roman rule, but from the barbarian invasions of the 3d cent. A.D. until modern times it was almost continuously a battleground. The northern section passed (7th cent.) to the Bulgarians; the southern section remained in the Byzantine Empire, but it was largely conquered (13th cent.) by the second Bulgarian empire after a brief period under the Latin Empire of Constantinople. In 1361 the Ottoman Turks took Adrianople, and in 1453, after the fall of Constantinople, all of Thrace fell to the Turks.

Modern History In 1878, N Thrace was made into the province of Eastern Rumelia Rumelia or Roumelia , region of S Bulgaria, between the Balkan and Rhodope mts. Historically, Rumelia denoted the Balkan possessions (particularly Thrace and Macedonia, and excluding Bosnia) of the Ottoman Empire. ..... Click the link for more information. ; after the annexation (1885) of Eastern Rumelia by Bulgaria (which had gained independence in 1878), the political meaning of the term Thrace became restricted to its southernmost part, which was still in Turkish hands. The terms Eastern Thrace and Western Thrace were used for the territories east and west of the Maritsa River. In the first of the Balkan Wars Balkan Wars, 1912–13, two short wars, fought for the possession of the European territories of the Ottoman Empire. The outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War for the possession of Tripoli (1911) encouraged the Balkan states to increase their territory at Turkish expense. ..... Click the link for more information.

(1912–13) Turkey ceded to Bulgaria all Western Thrace and the inland half of Eastern Thrace, including Adrianople, but after its defeat in the Second Balkan War (1913), Bulgaria retroceded all Thrace east of the Maritsa to Turkey. After World War I, Bulgaria ceded the southern part of its share of Thrace to Greece by the Treaty of Neuilly (1919), thus losing its only outlet to the Aegean. By the Treaty of Sèvres (1920) Greece also obtained most of Eastern Thrace except the zone of the Straits and Constantinople; the treaty, however, was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), which restored to Turkey all Thrace E of the Maritsa. As a result of subsequent population movements, the ethnic composition of the various parts of Thrace now corresponds largely to the national divisions. The Greek-Bulgarian frontier of 1919 and the Turkish-Greek frontier of 1923 were left unchanged after World War II, during which Bulgaria had occupied (1941–44) Greek Thrace.

Thrace a historical region in the eastern Balkan Peninsula, bounded by the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Marmara. The region was settled by Thracian tribes in antiquity. It became a Roman province in A.D . 46 and part of the Byzantine Empire in 395. In the sixth century it was settled by Slavs, and part of its territory was subsequently absorbed by the First Bulgarian Kingdom (680–1018). In 1204, Thrace became part of the Holy Roman Empire for a brief period; in the 15th century it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. The Congress of Berlin (1878) included the northern part of Thrace in Eastern Rumelia, which was united with the Bulgarian Principality in 1885. The Treaty of London (1913), which fixed the borders in the Balkans after the First Balkan War of 1912–13, awarded nearly all Thrace to Bulgaria. By the Treaty of Bucharest (1913), which concluded the Second Balkan War of 1913, Bulgaria ceded part of Western Thrace to Greece.

Under the Bulgarian-Turkish Treaty of Constantinople of the same year, Bulgaria ceded to Turkey Eastern Thrace, including the cities of Lozengrad (Kirklareli), Lüleburgaz, and Adrianople (Edirne), and retained part of Western Thrace, including the settlements of Dedeagach (Alexandroupolis) and Porto Lagos. After World War I, Bulgaria ceded part of Western Thrace to Greece in 1920. Under the Treaty of Sevres (1920), Greece was also awarded Eastern Thrace, including Adrianople; a narrow zone along the straits, however, was retained by Turkey. Under the Lausanne Treaty (1923), Adrianople and Eastern Thrace as far as the Maritsa River reverted to Turkey; Western Thrace, excluding Karaagac (Canakkale), was retained by Greece; and part of interior Thrace was retained by Bulgaria. These boundaries remained in effect after World War II. S. A. N Thrace a region in northeastern Greece, on the coast of the Aegean Sea.

Thrace includes the basin of the lower Maritsa River; the Xanthi-Komotini lowland, which faces the sea; and the southern slopes of the eastern Rhodope Mountains. It comprises the nomes of Evros, Xanthi, and Rhodope. Area, 8,600 sq km. Population, 329,600 (1971). Thrace is an important agricultural region. Crops grown throughout the area include cereals, tobacco (including high-grade varieties near Xanthi and Komotini), cotton, rice, and sesame. Truck farming and fruit growing are important occupations, as is the raising of livestock (chiefly sheep and goats). The region leads the country in sericulture. Complex ores are mined near Komotini, and brown coal near Alexandroupolis. Industry includes the manufacture of textiles and of food, tobacco, and wood products. Alexandroupolis is Thrace’s chief port and site of its main airfield. Thrace 1. an ancient country in the E Balkan Peninsula: successively under the Persians, Macedonians, and Romans 2.

a region of SE Europe, corresponding to the S part of the ancient country: divided by the Maritsa River into Western Thrace (Greece) and Eastern Thrace (Turkey) Eastern Thrace - Marmara, Turkey - Around Guides Eastern Thrace Tekirdağ is a city of 108,000 in European Turkey, on the northern shoreline of the Sea of Marmara. Loading… Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, in northwest Turkey . It lies on the gently rolling Thracian plains and just east of confluence of Maritsa, Tundzha, and Arda Rivers, known in Turkish as Meriç, Tunca, and Arda, respectively. Loading… Şarköy District Şarköy District is a string of towns and villages on the coast and just inland on the hills, sandwiched between the rolling hills of Mt Ganos to north and the Sea of Marmara to south, in the south of Eastern Thrace, northwestern Turkey . Loading… Marmara Ereğlisi is a coastal town with a population of about 7,000 in Eastern Thrace, NW of Turkey .

Loading… Enez is a small town in southwestern corner of Eastern Thrace, European part of Turkey . Loading… Demirköy is a town in Eastern Thrace, northwestern Turkey . Demirköy, literally "iron village", is a small town surrounded by forests up on the lush Istranca Mountains, in northeastern Thrace, not far from Black Sea coast. Advertisement Gelibolu , also known as Gallipoli, is a town in Eastern Thrace, on the northern banks of the Straits of Dardanelles. Loading… Choose the road less travelled. And remember that the best places to visit are not in the guide. Popular Destinations in Marmara About Around Guides . Site powered by Mapcarta . Based on the page Eastern Thrace . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Photos provided by Flickr under the copyright of their owners. This product uses the Flickr API but is not endorsed or certified by Flickr. Please contact us if you'd prefer to remove your Flickr photos from Around Guides.

Hello | National Review German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble made a statement not often heard from high-up Europeans concerning Turkey’s bid to join the European Union: “We should not accept Turkey as a full member . . . Turkey is not part of Europe.” Is he right? Geographically, no. As commonly understood, Europe ends at the Bosporus and, thus defined, the Republic of Turkey clearly includes European territory. But had history turned out a bit differently, Morocco rather than Great Britain could have held Gibraltar these past centuries; would that make Morocco part of Europe? I think not. Likewise, Eastern Thrace (Doğu Trakya in Turkish) being part of Turkey does not make Turkey part of Europe. Conversely, because Great Britain, Ireland, and Iceland are islands in the Atlantic Ocean does not prevent them from being part of Europe (despite the memorable British newspaper headline from the 1940s, “Fog in Channel: Continent cut off”). In other words, what counts is civilization, not waterways. Morocco and Turkey are both for many centuries part of Dar al-Islam, the Muslim world, Islamdom, call it what you will.

Atatürk’s reforms, to be sure, made Turkey appear more European and less Islamic but they did not change the essence of the country’s culture, as has been increasingly evident during the past decade. So, Schaeuble is right where it counts: Turkey is not part of Europe and should not become a full member of the European Union.

Eastern Thrace – Travel guide at Wikivoyage Istranca Mountains and the Black Sea coast[ edit ] İğneada Lush mountains, lakes, and desolate beaches 41.8241 27.7645 1 Demirköy — A town surrounded by forests up in Istranca Mountains, known for its 15th century foundry 41.877 27.985 2 İğneada — Long and sandy beaches where you'll have a hard time seeing someone else in the next kilometre, baсked by many lakes and one of the few floodplain forests in Europe 41.635 28.095 3 Kıyıköy — Still widely known by its traditional name of Midye among locals, this is a town with many traditional wooden houses, preserved city walls, and a monastery carved into rocks 41.442 27.920 4 Saray — Inland town serving as a hub for surrounding region, with a 16th-century Ottoman mosque 41.5731 27.7675 5 Vize — Town on

 the foothills of Istranca Mountains not very far from Black Sea coast, known for its Byzantine cathedral-turned-mosque called Little Hagia Sophia Thracian Plains[ edit ] Gently rolling plains covering the interior of the region; with towns, most of which have some artifacts dating back to the Ottoman period, lying on the major routes between Istanbul and Europe 41.430 27.091 6 Babaeski — A town with an old mosque and a medieval bridge spanning a creek flowing through a tranquil, green meadow 41.286 28.002 7 Çerkezköy — A city with much industry 41.159 27.804 8 Çorlu — The newly emerging major city of the region, with even more industry 41.676 26.559 9 Edirne — The second capital of the Ottoman Empire, chock full of history; even the Selimiye Mosque alone is well worth the trip to this beautiful city İpsala — small town on the Greek border 40.854 26.632 10 Keşan

 — A city in the western part of the region, near the Greek border; located on an important crossroad 41.736 27.224 11 Kırklareli — A city in the north, near the Bulgarian border, with a quite well preserved old quarter full of traditional wooden and neo-classical architecture 41.405 27.355 12 Lüleburgaz — The geographical center of Eastern Thrace with a sixteenth century mosque and accompanying covered bazaar 41.264 26.684 13 Uzunköprü — The name of which translates "the long bridge" in Turkish, this town has one of the longest stone bridges in anywhere nearby (more than a kilometre across), built in the 15th century Marmara and Aegean coasts[ edit ] Miles of beaches, stony and sandy, crowded and lonely alike; fishing towns, vineyards, and pine forests here and there Eceabat — main town on Gallipoli Peninsula, serving as a hub to WWI memorials Enez — a small town on the Maritsa delta, where Maritsa River empt

ies into the Aegean Sea; a quite well-preserved Byzantine citadel and long sandy beaches are the main attractions Erikli-Mecidiye — two of the most popular resorts on the Saros Bay shore Gelibolu — historical town on the Straits of Dardanelles, at the base of the peninsula known by the same name (Gallipoli) Kumbağ — main nightlife spot of Eastern Thrace, with some kitschy bars and (overcrowded) beaches Marmara Ereğlisi — site of ancient city of Perinthos, once administrative centre of the region, now a small town Şarköy & Mürefte — these pleasant towns are at the centre of the wine country of the region, with nice beaches and some Greek architecture left from the former inhabitants Silivri — a town rapidly changing into a suburb of Istanbul Tekirdağ — pleasant coastal city with some traditional wooden architecture, and where 18th century Hungarian independence leader, Ferenc Rakoczi II, was exiled Geographically speaking, the city of Istanbul is also partially in Eastern Thrace, but culturally it is a world afar and should be considered as a region on its own.

Other destinations[ edit ] Dupnisa Cave — deep in the forest on the Istranca Mountains, an impressive and easily visitable cave with an underground creek, stalactites, and bats Gallipoli — site of 1915 Anzac landing and many WWI memorials; in the southwest of the region Kastro — Black Sea beach with sand lilies, backed by a beautiful forest Saros Bay — an indentation of Aegean Sea between Thracian mainland and Gallipoli peninsula, popular among scuba divers as this gulf is one of the cleanest and liveliest (in terms of marine ecology) bodies of water in all of Turkey Islands[ edit ] Gökçeada (Imbros) — the largest Turkish island, home of a Greek community and abandoned villages Marmara Island — although nearer to Asian mainland, this island has extensive transportation and cultural links with Eastern Thrace; site of a marble quarry with unfinished Roman sculptures and picturesque villages Understand[ edit ] Eastern Thrace is located in the northwestern corner of Turkey and makes up 3% of the country's landmass. Although this percentage might seem small at first, Eastern Thrace is only slightly smaller than whole of Belgium , for example.

Eastern Thrace is essentially a peninsula surrounded by Greece ( Western Thrace ) and Bulgaria ( Northern Thrace ) to the west and north respectively and bouded by Black Sea, Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles, and the Aegean Sea to the northeast, east, south, and southwest respectively. Central parts of Eastern Thrace are dominated by Thracian plains, which are fairly...well, plain. These plains produce much of the country's wheat and sunflower, and a ride through in sunflower season (July) is indeed very pleasant amongst yellow flowers. However, being one of the powerhouses of Turkish economy, more east you go on the plains, less agricultural the landscape becomes—around Çerkezköy and north, west, and east of Çorlu is essentially nothing other than urban conglomeration going hand in hand with endless rows of factories. Northeastern coast and its adjacent area, on the other hand, is dominated by low-lying range of Istranca Mountains covered with lush broadleaf forests, typical of Turkish Black Sea coast, as well as the northern reaches of the region along the Bulgarian border.

Southwestern parts dominated by Ganos and Koru Mountains, another low lying mountain range, and Gallipoli Peninsula are covered mostly with pine forests, in addition to vast vineyards on the foothils of Ganos Mountain, which supply almost half of Turkey's wine production. Culture of today's Eastern Thrace shares many similarities with cultures of Balkan (Southeastern Europe) countries as much of the region's population is descendants of people who immigrated from those countries starting from late 1800s to the date. Eastern Thrace is a part of Marmara Region . History[ edit ] Thracians, an ancient people speaking an Indo-European language and whom the larger area surrounding the region was named after (which derived from the Thracian Zrayka) were the native folk of the region. Except a brief period during Odrysian Kingdom (5th–3rd century BC), these warrior tribes never formed a united nation.

Except for landmark-ish tumulii, which they erected for their nobles as monumental tombs, not much other than some ruins and artifacts hardly distinguishable from natural formations by untrained eyes is left physically from this period, although some villages and rivers across the region still carry names that are phonetically corrupted forms of their original Thracian names. Around 4000 BC, Greek colonists from Aegean Islands made their debut in the region along the Marmara coast, although never succeed to penetrate much inland due to opposition of vicious Thracian tribes. Some of the cities Greeks founded in the region still exist to this day, such as Tekirdağ . Around 335 BC, Alexander the Great—part of army of whom was actually consisted of Thracian troops—showed up in the region on his way to India . It was the Romans—who took over the region around the early years of Christ—who first truly united the region into a single authority and named it the province of Thracia. Since the region was on the main route (named Via Egnatia) between the later Roman capital of Constantinople and Rome , the other major city of the empire, it never fell into a backwater status.

After the Roman Empire was divided in two, Eastern Thrace consecutively changed hands between Bulgarian Kingdom and Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, several times in 10th century CE. Ottoman Turks set foot in around 1350s for the first time in Thrace (and in Europe ). Eastern Thrace was mainly the warehouse and breadbasket of the imperial capital of Constantinople during this period in addition to its strategic importance stemmed from the fact that it lies on the major routes between the capital and its European possessions. During the turmoil before, during, and after WWI, local Greeks and Bulgarians, who had hitherto formed a substantial part of region's population, emigrated to Greece and Bulgaria respectively, and were replaced by Turkish/Muslim immigrants, mostly from Greece and Bulgaria, but also from other Balkan countries. The 1950s also saw a Jewish emigration from the region towards newly founded Israel . Climate[ edit ] While being not a very large region, Eastern Thrace has a variety of different climate types that lie close to but are substantially different from each other.

Inland areas have temperate continental climate that is similar to that found in inland regions of Balkans , while milder climate of places on the Black Sea coast resembles more of an oceanic climate, typical to other areas of Turkish Black Sea coast . Climate of areas on Marmara and Aegean coasts is similar to the Mediterranean climate, though strong winds carry continental influences easily down to coast, making it much colder than it might be, considering its fairly southern latitude. In general, no matter where you are heading in the region, consider these facts when planning your trip: It can rain in any season, including summer, but summer showers tend to last no more than 15–20 minutes, no matter how heavy they may be (and they tend to be heavy). Other than sudden cloud formations before showers, it tend to be sunny throughout the summer, though. Haze and (sometimes very heavy) fog is common in autumn, especially in November. Winters are cloudy, mostly rainy (or perhaps, sleety), cold and windy in the region—it's no wonder that ancient Greeks considered Thrace to be the homeland of Boreaus, the god of cold northern winds.

While the temperature usually does not drop below -10°C (although there is a record low of -24°C in 1940s infamous for their cold), it feels much colder than it actually is, due to the high-ish relative humidity in the region. It snows every winter, too, and it stays on the ground for at least a few days—more in inland locations than the coast, as expected. Talk[ edit ] Turkish is the language of choice in the region, as elsewhere in Turkey. The local dialect is loaded with slang and other colloquially used words mainly originating from other Balkan languages (mainly Bulgarian), but this won't be a problem if you can speak Turkish as local folk mostly avoid using them (or "translate" them into standard Turkish) when they see you're non-local. Also, the local dialect is one of the most similar dialects to standard Turkish (which is based on Istanbul dialect). The most frequent foreign language is English. The fact that thousands of immigrants from Bulgaria settled in the region in the late 1980s/early 1990s means that finding someone who speaks fluent Bulgarian is also a possibility (albeit somewhat remote).

Get in[ edit ] There are four border posts with Bulgaria (one rail, others highway) and three border posts with Greece (one rail, others highway), most of which are located on the banks of Maritsa River (Turkish: Meriç, Greek: Evros), which forms most of the Greco-Turkish border. The major ones are Dereköy north of Kırklareli (highway crossing into the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast ), Kapıkule west of Edirne (known as Kapitan Andreevo on the other side of the border, highway crossing into Central Bulgaria , which can have quite long queues in summer), Uzunköprü (railway crossing into northeastern Greece ) and İpsala west of Keşan (highway crossing into northeastern Greece). There are trains [1] [dead link] and buses crossing any of these border posts. The region is also well connected to Istanbul by highways and a motorway (toll-road), buses and trains. It's even possible to find a direct bus from Istanbul to a village well off-the-beaten-path.

Please note that all trains to the region departs at European station (Sirkeci) of Istanbul, not Haydarpasa, the Asian one There are two international airports in the region: Ataturk Airport of Istanbul and Corlu Airport (though Corlu Airport is reserved for flights from ex-Soviet countries only). There is also a substantial number of ferries connecting towns and cities located on the southern and northern (Thracian) coasts of the Sea of Marmara. By bus/minibus[ edit ] All cities in the region are connected to each other by bus, and smaller towns have minibus connections to nearby bigger towns and cities. There are also many (relatively) long-haul inter-town dolmuş lines in the region started recently, such as between Keşan and Çerkezköy via Tekirdağ and Çorlu or between Gelibolu and Silivri , via Tekirdağ and Marmara Ereğlisi . These are faster and slightly more expensive than buses.

By train[ edit ] The only line out of Istanbul 's European station (Sirkeci) splits into two near Babaeski , one of them continues towards Bulgaria and the other one towards Greece , there is at least one daily train (both local and international) operating in each line. As the railline wasn't laid down as straight as the highways, train journeys take more time than bus/car travel. By car[ edit ] The main highways of the region radiate out of Istanbul and generally follow a straight line towards Greek and Bulgarian borders, and Aegean Sea. Here is a list of the road numbers of main highways of the region and the notable towns and cities located along: D550/E87 after splitting from D100 near Edirne : Uzunkopru – Keşan – Gallipoli to Çanakkale (as D550/E87/E90) D555/E87 after splitting from D100 near Babaeski : Kirklareli to Bulgaria All roads in the region, even those leading to far away villages, are sealed, although pavement quality and road breadth varies according to how important and busy the road is.

By thumb[ edit ] The major crossroad with traffic lights near Keşan is probably number one hitchhiker's paradise in the region as there are major roads leading to all cardinal directions there, and all vehicles have to stop (or at least slow down) because of traffic lights. And there are lots of vehicles, day or night. And as a bonus, there is a huge supermarket nearby to replenish the supplies. It's even possible to get a lift all the way to Ukraine or Italy or Iran there (judging from the plate numbers of the trucks). See[ edit ] This region was important during Ottoman times, both because it was Istanbul's hinterland, and also because it was on the road between Istanbul, empire's capital city, and the European possessions of the empire. Therefore, almost all towns and cities in the region has an important landmark, such as a bridge, an inn, or a mosque (or sometimes all of them) built by Sinan, the famous Ottoman architect of 16th century. Be sure to check them out. The Tumulii (sing. tumulus), ancient Thracian burial mounds for their kings and nobles. These are man-made hills all over the region.

Dolmens and related menhirs which date back to paleolithic. Scattered around the area to the north of Edirne , near Lalapaşa and Süleoğlu . Do[ edit ] Do a wine-tasting trip in the Şarköy - Mürefte area (SW of Tekirdağ ). Some tour companies based in Istanbul offer such day-trips in autumn (fall). You can also organize a trip by yourself if you have a car at your disposal. Many factories in the area accept walk-in wine-tasters for a token fee. Should you have a chance, don't miss to attend a traditional wedding feast (düğün), especially in the villages, where beer, raki, and wine flow like rivers. This region has one of the most colourful wedding ceremonies in Turkey, with Balkan tunes. No need to be invited. Eat[ edit ] Tekirdağ and Uzunköprü in the region are known for their local meat-balls (köfte), while Edirne is known for its fried liver (ciğer). Fish and other seafood are popular in the towns on the coasts of the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea.

Fans of the freshwater fish may want to check out the fish market of Enez , which has an abundant supply year round thanks to the nearby delta of the Meriç River, or the trout (alabalık) restaurants near Vize and Saray on the foothills of the Istranca Mountains. Necatiye village, on the highway (D100) from Istanbul to Edirne (exact location: west of Babaeski , east of Havsa ), is known for its own brand of ice-cream, known as Nedo (shortened form of Necatiye Dondurması, i.e. "Necatiye ice-cream") which is said to draw its taste from the local flora which the local cows are fed on. The shop where producers sell the ice-cream is in the west exit of the village (there is a nedo sign), with a lovely garden where you can enjoy the ice-cream next to a little stream. Nice place to take a break. They sell a really big chunk of ice-cream cheaper than the big cities. Drink[ edit ] This region provides much of Turkey's wine and raki production and a considerable percentage of beer production.

Don't forget to check out local brands (although most of them are available almost everywhere in Turkey –except wine). The Thracian Wine Route (Trakya Bağ Rotası) connects twelve major wineries all around the region. It starts at Vino Dessera in Ahmetçe near Kırklareli in the north of the region, going past Arcadia in Hamitabat, Chamlija in Büyükkarıştıran (both near Lüleburgaz ), Chateau Nuzun in Çeşmeli near Marmara Ereğlisi , and Barel in Karaevli near Tekirdağ before reaching the coast of the Sea of Marmara. Then it swings west along the coast, passing the wineries of Barbare near Barbaros, Umurbey in Yazır (both southwest of Tekirdağ), Melen in Hoşköy, Gülor and Chateau Kalpak east and west of Şarköy respectively (Hoşköy and Şarköy both being towns in the Şarköy District ), and Gali in Evreşe near Gelibolu before ending at Suvla in Eceabat at the farther end of the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Go next[ edit ] Drivers should be aware that all place names on highway signs are written in Turkish, as elsewhere in Turkey. These include the place names out of Turkey, too, no matter how different their Turkish names are from their native or English counterparts. Some such as Burgaz or Sofya are close enough to their native/English spellings, as if there just have been a spelling error on the sign, but what is Yunanistan? And which direction on Earth is Greece? Don't get your eyes weary by looking for 'Greece' or 'Bulgaria' on the signs, here is a short list of what you should look for instead (and what you will see commonly on the roads towards the border) (Turkish names written in italics, English names in parentheses): Yunanistan ( Greece ), Batı Trakya ( Western Thrace ), Gümülcine ( Komotini ), Dedeağaç ( Alexandroupolis ), Selanik ( Thessaloniki ), Bulgaristan ( Bulgaria ), Burgaz ( Burgas ), Sofya ( Sofia )... And hudut, which you will see frequently on signs counting down the distance as well as on the directional signs, means 'border'.

One hint: All place names out of Turkey, as well as the names of the border posts, are written over a yellow or brown band on otherwise normally blue or green highway signs (but keep in mind that the same yellow or brown signs are also used for places of historical and/or touristical interest, too). This region travel guide to Eastern Thrace is a usable article. It gives a good overview of the region, its sights, and how to get in, as well as links to the main destinations, whose articles are similarly well developed. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page . Thrace | History of Turkey. History of Turkey. ƒσявιddєη ƒσяєѕт The Thracians ( Ancient Greek : Θρᾷκες, Latin : Thraci) were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting a large area in Central and Southeastern Europe. [4] They were bordered by the Scythians to the north, the Celts and the Illyrians to the west, the Ancient Greeks to the south and the Black Sea to the east.

They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family . The study of Thracians and Thracian culture is known as Thracology . Thrace and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom in its maximum extent under Sitalces (431-424 BC) By the 5th century BC, the Thracian presence was pervasive enough to have made Herodotus [5] call them the second-most numerous people in the part of the world known by him (after the Indians ), and potentially the most powerful, if not for their lack of unity. The Thracians in classical times were broken up into a large number of groups and tribes, though a number of powerful Thracian states were organized, such as the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace and the Dacian kingdom of Burebista . A type of soldier of this period called the Peltast probably originated in Thrace. Before the expansion of the Kingdom of Macedon , Thrace was divided into three camps (East, Central, and West) after the withdrawal of the Persians.

A notable ruler of the East Thracians was Cersobleptes , who attempted to expand his authority over many of the Thracian tribes. He was eventually defeated by the Macedonians . The Thracians were typically not city-builders, the largest Thracian cities were in fact large villages. [6] [7] and their only polis was Seuthopolis Log in or sign up and select Add to favorites to follow updates to this story

Question: Eastern Thrace refers to which part of Turkey?
Answer: European