Yemişkapanı Han, Sinan's Waterway and Roman Necropolis in Edirne

Edirne is a city that still holds many secrets concerning its past. The best proof of that is the recent archaeological discovery, made in the very heart of the city's historical centre, in front of world-famous Selimiye Mosque. Edirne Municipality prepared the project of a revitalisation of the Selimiye Mosque Square, including the creation of a tourist information office, a park, pools and fountains. However, it was opposed because there are the remains of a historical building hidden below its ground. Edirne Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board initiated archaeological excavations that started in autumn of 2013, in three selected places of the square. It was just the beginning of groundbreaking discoveries, revealing the secret history of the city.

Selimiye Square excavations, Edirne, June, 2017
Selimiye Square excavations, Edirne, June, 2017

Rüstem Pasha Caravanserai in Edirne

Rüstem Pasha Caravanserai is located in the historical centre of Edirne, on the mainland route between Asia Minor and Europe. Even after losing the status of the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Edirne continued to be the critical military and commercial centre of the Empire's European provinces. In the 1560s, the Grand Vezir Rüstem Pasha commissioned the eminent architect Mimar Sinan to build a caravanserai in Edirne for the travellers and merchants to stay. Even today, the caravanserai still serves as a hotel, although its adaptation to modern standards has been questioned by visitors and architects alike.

Rüstem Pasha Caravanserai in Edirne
Rüstem Pasha Caravanserai in Edirne

Severan (Cendere) Bridge

Septimius Severus Bridge, located just off the road leading from Kahta to the famous Mount Nemrut, poses an exciting challenge for those people who would like to know something new and well documented about this structure. It would seem that this bridge no longer hides any secrets, as it was thoroughly photographed and described, and has a whole article devoted to it on Wikipedia. However, let's try to look at this building and its history in a more inquisitive way.

This text is a fragment of a guidebook to Mount Nemrut National Park: "The Secrets of Mount Nemrut".

Severan (Cendere) Bridge
Severan (Cendere) Bridge

Selimiye Mosque Ottoman Gravestones Exhibition in Edirne

There are numerous historical cemeteries in Edirne, but Selimiye Mosque Ottoman Gravestones Exhibition (tr. Osmanlı Taş Eserleri Sergileme Alanı) is not one of them. It is just an exhibition of gravestones collected from different graveyards of the city. However, if you do not have time or patience to visit the real cemeteries, scattered around Edirne, this is a conveniently located place to see the most prominent examples of various gravestones, representing the Ottoman era burials.

Selimiye Mosque Ottoman Gravestones Exhibition in Edirne
Selimiye Mosque Ottoman Gravestones Exhibition in Edirne

Karakuş Tumulus

Probably many of you dream of admiring the sunrise and the sunset on Mount Nemrut and some lucky people would have had such an opportunity. Meanwhile, not far from the majestic Nemrut Mountain rises a much lower hill, whose peak is known as the Karakş Tumulus. A visit to this place will not substitute the experiences from Nemrut but can be a perfect complement to them.

This text is a fragment of a guidebook to Mount Nemrut National Park: "The Secrets of Mount Nemrut".

Karakuş Tumulus
Karakuş Tumulus

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