Edirne
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Edirne_Selimiye_Mosque
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edirne-city
Edirne has been located in Europe portion of Turkey and is the second largest city of Trakya Region after Istanbul. It has been the host of border gates opened to Greece and Bulgaria. The city has been settled by the Roman Emperor Hadrianus in II. Century after A.C. and the city had been named with the name of the emperor and it had been called Hadrianopolis. In 586, the city had been captured by Avars, then it had been invaded by Bulgarians in 914. However, it had become an important city in the period of the Byzantines. During Crusades, the city had been occupied Crusaders several times. But it has been conquered by Prince I. Murat in 1362 and included in the frontiers of the Ottomans. Then , it has been named as “Edirne” which had become the capital city after 91 years later than Bursa had. Fatih Sultan Mehmet had been born and raised up in Edirne. Before his conquest of Istanbul, prior to his attacks to the Byzantines with his army, he had planned everything in Edirne, then he had turned Istanbul into the capital city of Ottoman country in 29 May 1453 when he conquered the city. Edirne had been taken by Russians two times and been fired and destroyed. The domestic and foreign tourists visiting Edirne admire the historical texture of the city. Selimiye Mosque is the symbolic structure of Edirne. It has been constructed by great architecht Mimar Sinan in 1569 – 1575 years and the mosque has 999 windows, 4 minarets and has an height of 70 m. It is one of the most magnificent building among historical places in Edirne. Sultan II. Beyazit had a complexity constructed called “Kulliye” in 1480. There are a medicine school and a treatment house has a capacity of 2000 patients. The Ottoman palaces in Edirne have been preserved until today in a good condition. Rustem Pasa Caravanserai, mosque and medresseh built by the commands of Prine II. Murat, public bath and bedesten (vaulted and fireproof part of a bazaar where valuable goods are kept) are the places that have been protected well until today. Except from these historical places, the ramparts of Edirne Fortress having made by Hadrianus are among the places are to be visited. Another important property of Edirne is that it has been the cradle of Turkish National Wrestling Sport. In Kirkpinar district, many famous worldwide champion wrestlers have been raised up such as Koca Yusuf, Kara Ahmet, Kurtdereli. Every year, Turkish Wrestling Championship have been arranged here properly as a festival.
