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Edirne is a city in Thrace, the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria.
Name
The city was known in English until after the First World War as Adrianople Edirne is the capital of Edirne Province (Turkish Thrace) and its estimated population in 2002 was 128,400, up from 119,298 in 2000.
The city initially took its name Hadrianopolis after its Roman (re)founder, Emperor Hadrian, and the usage remains current in Greek, though it has fallen into disuse in English and other languages. The Turks commonly use Edirne (now the official and customary name) or Edreneh, and the Slavs Odrin (for Bulgarian) or Edrene (for Macedonian) or Jedrene (for Serbian); all of these are probably adapted forms of the name Hadrian.
History
The area around Edirne has been the site of no fewer than 15 major battles or sieges, from the days of the ancient Greeks.
According to Greek mythology, Orestes, son of king Agamemnon, built this city as Orestias, at the confluence of the Tonsus (Toundja) and the Ardiscus (Arda) with the Hebrus (Maritza). The city was (re)founded eponymously by the Roman Emperor Hadrian on the site of a previous Thracian settlement known as Uskadama, Uskudama or Uskodama. Hadrian developed it, adorned it with monuments, changed its name to Hadrianopolis, and made it the capital of the Roman province of Haemimont, or Thrace. Licinius was defeated there by Constantine in 323, and Valens killed by the Goths in 378.
During the existence of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, Theodore, Despot of Epirus, took possession of it in 1227, and two years later was killed there by Asen, King of the Bulgarians. It was captured by Sultan Murat I in 1360/2, the city served as capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 until 1453.
Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, was born in Adrianople.
Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, lived in Edirne from 1863 to 1868. He was exiled there by the Ottoman Empire before being banished further to the Ottoman penal colony in Akka.
In particular, the catastrophic defeat of the Roman Emperor Valens by the Visigoths took place nearby, and the city was a vital fortress defending Ottoman Constantinople and Eastern Thrace during the Balkan Wars of 1912-13. The city was, however, occupied by imperial Russian troops in 1829, during the Greek War of Independence, and in 1878, in the war for Bulgarian independence, by the Bulgarians in the 1912 and by the Greeks in the early 1920s.
Under Ottoman rule Adrianople was the principal city of a vilayet (province) of the same name (both now renamed Edirne), which has about 960,000 inhabitants. It has a thriving commerce in woven stuffs, silks, carpets and agricultural products. The city suffered greatly in 1905 from a conflagration.
Culture, sites and partnership with Europe
Edirne is a gateway of Turkey opening to western world, the first stopover for newcomers from Europe. Situated on the Greek (7 km) and Bulgarian (20 km) borders, this beautiful city is famed for its many mosques, the elegant domes and minarets, which dominate the panoramic appearance of the province. Adrianople contains the ruins of the ancient palace of the Sultans, and has many beautiful mosques. One of the most important monuments in this ancient province is the Selimiye Mosque, built in 1575 and designed by Turkey's greatest master architect, Mimar Sinan, which has the highest minarets in Turkey, at 70.9 meters, of an altogether grandiose appearance and with a cupola three or four feet higher than that of St. Sophia in Istanbul. Carrying the name of the then reigning the Ottoman Sultan Selim II, this mosque magnificently represents Turkish marble handicrafts and it is covered with valuable tiles and fine paintings.
Also needing mention are the Trakya University Bayezid II Külliye Health Museum, a great monument with its complex construction comprising many facilities used in those times.
Besides the fascinating mosques, there are different sites to be visited in Edirne, all reflecting its rich past. There are attractive palaces, the most prominent one being the Edirne Palace, which was the "Palace of the Empire" built during the reign of Murat II. There are the amazing caravansaries, like the Rustem Pasha and Ekmekcioglu Ahmet Pasha caravansaries, which were designed to host travelers, in the 16th century.
A cultural partnership with Loerrach in Germany have been started in 2006. The goal is to exchange pupils and students to improve their cultural skills and understanding.
Economy
Edirne is known for its liver in oil, white cheese and fruit shaped soaps.
Part of Edirne lies along the Aegean Sea coast. Enez and Erikli are ideal places for swimmers, divers and amateur fishers.
Every year in June there is an oil-wrestling festival called Kırkpınar, said to be the oldest active sport organization after the Olympic Games (which were refounded after centuries of inactivity).
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