Edirne Tour

07:00 am Meeting in front of Kadikoy Municipality Marital Registry Office
07:15 am Departing for Edirne with our tour bus
Upon arriving at Edirne, which has served as a capital to the Ottoman Empire for almost 88 years, we will start our tour by visiting the Bulgarian Church. Then we will go to the Muradiye Mosque, built on a hilltop over Sarayici, as ordered by Sultan Murat II. Our next stop is the Selimiye Mosque, which signifies the zenith of the efforts of reaching a spatial unity and which has surpassed all sultan mosques and St. Sophia in this sense. The other landmarks we will visit include the Arasta Bazaar, Selimiye Foundation Museum, Turkish and Islamic Artworks Museum, the Archeology and Ethnography Museum, built in 1925 inside the courtyard of Selimiye Mosque upon Ataturk’s orders,and the Hafiz Agha Mansion, serving as the Edirne City Museum since May 2017. After completing the first round of our tour we will take a lunch break. After having lunch, we will continue exploring the city, starting with the Old Mosque. Later we will visit the Rustem Pasha Caravanserai, one of the interesting examples of the classical Ottoman architecture, built by Sinan, ordered by Rustem Pasha, grand vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent. The following stops will be Ali Pasha Bazaar, Macedonia Tower and the c Serefeli Mosque (Mosque with Three Minaret-Galleries). In the afternoon, we will have free time to enjoy some coffee/tea and for shopping. At the end of our tour, we will check in our hotel. After relaxing for a brief time, we will leave the hotel for dinner. After having dinner, we will get back to our hotel to spend the night.

After the breakfast, our tour starts with the Grand Synagogue. Afterwards, crossing the Tunca and Meric Bridges, named after the streams they are built on, we will arrive in Karaagac. Here we will see the historic Meric Bridge, the Lausanne Monument and the train station. Before leaving Karaagac, we will have lunch. Then our tour continues with Healthcare Museum at the Beyazid II Complex, who personally laid the foundation of this complex back in 1484. Opened in 1488, this multi-pupose complex included an infirmary where in-patients were hospitalized. This center was will known for its aqua-sound and music therapy technique in taking care of its patients. In Evliya Celebi’s words: “There is such a hospital there that is indescribable, in depictable by words.” The center has served for 400 years, incessantly. After leaving the Healthcare Museum, we will head to Sarayici Campus, where we will see the ruins of the Old Palace, the birthplace of Cem Sultan and Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. Other stops include the Balkan Martyrs Memorial, Justice Mansion, the site of Kirkipinar Oil Wrestling Field, Fatih and Saray Bridges. After visiting all these landmarks, we will leave Edirne and head back to Istanbul.