Atik Ali Pasha Mosque in Edirne

While walking around Edirne, visitors find numerous historical buildings from the Ottoman period. The most famous of them is undoubtedly the Selimiye Mosque, which makes the city a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, there are also mosques completely forgotten and neglected. An excellent example of such a structure is Atik Alipaşa mosque, located in the Kaleiçi district.

Atik Ali Pasha Mosque in Edirne (in 2012)
Atik Ali Pasha Mosque in Edirne (in 2012)

Saray Baths in Edirne

After the conquest of Adrianople by the Ottoman army led by Sultan Murat I in 1365, the city became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. It lost its exceptional status only after the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453. The Saray Baths (tr. Saray Hamamı) is one of the few remaining structures of the Old Edirne Palace, erected in the 14th century.

Saray Baths in Edirne
Saray Baths in Edirne

Eurymedon Bridge (Selge)

This Roman bridge, beautifully situated over deep Köprülü Canyon, is an irrefutable proof of Roman engineers' ingenuity. The bridge, spanning the cliffs of the canyon, is now called Oluk Köprü (i.e. Gutter Bridge). It still provides the communication link on the route from the Mediterranean coast deep into the Taurus Mountains, to the area of ancient Pisidia.

Eurymedon Bridge (Selge)
Eurymedon Bridge (Selge)

Grand Synagogue of Edirne

While walking the streets of the old district of Edirne, it is easy to reach Maarif Street. There, at its southern end stands the newly restored building of the Grand Synagogue of Edirne (tr. Edirne Büyük Sinagogu). The fate of this building reflects the turbulent history of the Jewish community of Edirne, once very numerous, and now almost non-existent.

Grand Synagogue of Edirne
Grand Synagogue of Edirne

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