Marmara - Metropolis of Istanbul, Bosphorus and Dardanelles

tuerkei marmara

Located in northwestern Turkey, the Marmara region is the country's bridge and connection to Europe, with Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, at its heart. The area has been inhabited for thousands of years and is home to a variety of archaeological sites and relics from the past. The present offers everything from water sports to skiing, or even relaxing on the beach.

Tekirdağ on the Marmara Coast is famous for its local meatballs and raki. Edirne (Adrianople) near the Bulgarian border is a former Ottoman capital with many attractions. The long peninsula to the south leads to Gallipoli, the site of the 1915 landings, which is now dotted with First World War memorials. Ferries run to Gokceada, a mountainous island with semi-abandoned Greek villages.

Istanbul's industrial sprawl extends as far as Izmit. The landscape improves to the south: Iznik am See was ancient Nicaea, the site of Christianity's first and seventh ecumenical councils. Yalova, on the coast, is surrounded by green mountains dotted with thermal springs and waterfalls.

Çanakkale, on the shores of the Dardanelles, is the starting point for visiting ancient Troy and the beautiful island of Bozcaada. It is also the route to ancient Pergamum further south, and an alternative route to Gallipoli. The Marmara Islands lie in Turkey's "Inland Sea" and offer a wide range of resorts to remote escapes. Inland, Balikesir is basically just a transport hub. The highlight of this area is Bursa, a former Ottoman capital with much early imperial history and the nearby national park and ski resort of Mount Uludağ. The routes to the east lead back to Istanbul via Iznik.

Istanbul - Great City on the Bosporus

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Istanbul - Großstadt am Bosporus

Istanbul offers not just museums and famous historical and natural attractions. There is also an exciting nightlife and countless shopping opportunities, especially for silver, copper, and gold jewellery, and of course, carpets.

Kapalı Çarşı - Grand Bazaar in Istanbul

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Der Große Basar

Kapalı Çarşı - The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world. It contains more than 4000 shops, restaurants, streets, gates and even two mosques. This old building was built over the remains of the Old Bedesten. 

Uludağ National Park - Park on the Slopes of the Massi

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Uludag - Nationalpark

Uludağ National Park - The nature reserve extends across the southern slopes of the Uludag massif near the metropolis of Bursa. The vegetation is divided into four zones, ranging from 500 to 2500 m in altitude, there are 4 different types of vegetation.Read More

Grand Rue de Pera - Istiklal Street Istanbul

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Grand Rue de Pera - İstiklal Straße

Grand Rue de Pera - We visited Istiklal Street, probably the busiest street in Istanbul. This pedestrian street stretches between Taksim Square and the Tunel area for about 3 – 4 km in the Beyoglu district.

Princes’ Islands of Marmara Sea by sailing boat

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Princes’ Islands of Marmara Sea by sailing boat

Princes’ Islands - The other pleasant part of Istanbul is Adalar Islands strewn over the Marmara Sea. They are known as Princes’ Islands by foreigners because the rulers of the Byzantine Empire sent troublesome princes to these islands to rot away.

Uluabat Lake - The freshwater Gölü near Bursa

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The freshwater Lake Uluabat (Gölü) near Bursa

Uluabat Lake - Once in the vicinity of Bursa, we of course also wanted to see the large freshwater lake Uluabat (Uluabat Gölü), or as it is often called due to the former Greek city, the Apolyont lake.

Uludağ - Skiing fun until the end of April

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Uludağ - Skiing fun until the end of April

Uludağ - Thanks to the guaranteed snow, the mountain is a sure bet for skiers with a taste for exotic destinations. On the slopes near Bursa, snow piles up to three meters deep.

Bursa at Uludag Mountain - short history!

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Bursa - at Uludag Mountains

Bursa, the fourth biggest town of Turkey and capital of the district of Bursa in the western part of Turkey, now has 1.6 million inhabitants. About 90 kilometres from Istanbul, and at the foot of the Uludağ, this fast growing town has all that modern towns can offer.

The transport hub of the future is on the Bosphorus

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The transport hub of the future is on the Bosphorus

The geo-strategically favourable location between the three large economic blocks Asia, Europe and Russia makes Turkey one of the most important international transport hubs in the world.

Finds from construction pits of Marmaray project in Istanbul

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Finds from construction pits of Marmaray project in Istanbul

As part of the conference “İstanbul as an archaeological site” of the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts and the Anatolian Culture and Art Research Centre (AKSAM), finds from the excavation pits of the Mamaray project, the tunnel construction project of the subway Route below the Sea of Marmara, were presented.

Çanakkale-1915-Köprüsü – longest suspension bridge

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Çanakkale-1915-Köprüsü – longest suspension bridge

In 2017, work began on a suspension bridge across the Dardanelles Strait. We have repeatedly described the arduous crossing of the inlet by car ferry, especially when traveling with a wide caravan (2.50 meters).

The ancient city of Assos and the revival of a campsite

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The ancient city of Assos and the revival of a campsite

In order to further prepare for the establishment of camper pitches in Turkey and the Balkans for the purpose of winter accommodation and camper stations available all year round, we also accepted the Eden Hotel Group's invitation to Assos.

Found the venue of the Council of Nicea?

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Found the venue of the Council of Nicea?

We had just put the article on "Isnik - the ancient Byzantine Nikaia" online when we were surprised by the news that Turkish researchers probably discovered the actual meeting place of the first Christian Council of Nicaea with the help of aerial photographs.

İznik- the ancient Byzantine Nikaia

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İznik- the ancient Byzantine Nikaia

On the way from Bursa towards Eskesehir we had made a short stopover on the D 200 near Inegöl for lunch in one of the many restaurants along the road.

History of the media-heavy Taksim Square in Istanbul

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History of the media-heavy Taksim Square in Istanbul

A little bit of history about Taksim Square in Istanbul, which has once again attracted a great deal of attention from the media. Taksim Square in Istanbul has always been considered the city's most important transport hub.

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