Edirne – things to know.
- Edirne is a very old city and was once the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
- Two of the most important Mosques in Türkiye are located there – the Selimiye and the II Bayezid Külliyesi, the latter with its medical museum.
- Travelling around the city by bus is possible and you can pay by credit card on the bus.
- Don’t miss a trip to the river on the edge of the city which is spanned by several bridges and has lots of riverside restaurants.
- Because of the city’s closeness to the borders of both Bulgaria and Greece – expect an interesting crossover of cultures.
Crossing into Türkiye for the first time:
As I am travelling across Europe by land, I knew I was coming near to journey’s end as the next country I would visit would be Türkiye and that’s mostly in Asia right? In fact only 3% of Türkiye’s land mass is in Europe and only 15% of it’s population … mainly in Istanbul, but the largest city wholly in European Türkiye is Edirne and that was to be my next destination.
The Bus Dilemma: A Game of Patience
Although I prefer to travel by train, there is only one train a day from Bulgaria to Türkiye, the overnight train that I DIDN’T catch in Romania (see this link) but as it leaves Plovdiv at 2.am and arrives in Edirne at 6am (meaning I would be in the city most of the day without accommodation.) It would also mean that I would see nothing of the scenery between the two countries which is one of the main reasons I want to travel overland … so reluctantly I decided to go by bus.
There are 2 bus companies that run the route, Adur Tur and Metro. There are several runs spaced out during the day. I chose Adur Tur because the booking was easier and there was a departure at around 10.15 arriving in Edirne at 15.00 (though it does depend on the border crossing.) There was a Metro bus leaving at 10.30 but it wasn’t due into Edirne until 16.00 although it was taking the same route. What is advertised can be very different to what actually happens though as I was about to find out.
Determined to avoid surprises, I checked the buses in advance. What I found was alarming: on two separate Mondays, the Adur Tur bus simply never arrived. Passengers were either shuffled onto Metro or left stranded. With this in mind, I hedged my bets and bought tickets for both companies. In my head the tickets were only 12 Euros and it was belt and braces – whatever happened (and Metro seemed to be quite reliable) I would have a ticket for the bus on that day. Fast forward to a couple of weeks later and I am doing the trip for real, 10.15 passed and no bus … 10.30 passed and no bus … then at 10.40 the Metro bus arrived AND directly behind it was the Adur Tur bus. Both buses at the same time. I checked the Metro bus which had arrived first and it was virtually full, so I then looked at the Adur Tur bus which was half empty and took that. I managed to get two seats to myself for the whole journey and was very happy. I would like to say that we arrived first and although we were neck and neck even at the Turkish border, just past there my bus decided to stop for fuel at a tiny filling station with a very narrow entrance and got blocked in, which took over 30 minutes to sort out. The Metro bus had disappeared into the dust. I travel with a wheeled suitcase and a backpack for my journeys and my backpack was thoroughly searched at the border. Nothing was found of course, but I did wonder why it’s always my backpack which seems to arouse suspicion.
Arrival in Edirne: A Warm Welcome
The bus arrived at Edirne bus station about an hour late (the bus was continuing to Istanbul.) I had arranged to share a taxi with a couple from the US who were sitting near me on the bus, but when we got to the taxi rank the drivers were quick to separate us and I found myself on my own winging it into the town. Although I think the driver went the long way around, the bill wasn’t too bad at about 5 Euros and I found myself at my hotel on the same side of town as the bus and railway stations.
Now I don’t normally stay in Hotels … but Türkiye has recently (in October 2024) clamped down on short-term rentals mandating that they all have to be registered if they wish to be let to people for under 100 days. Given that most tourist visas are only for 90 days that is basically forcing foreigners into hotels. The only exceptions are where people own the whole building or where (if an apartment block) the whole block votes to allow them to happen. I couldn’t find anywhere in Edirne, but as I knew I was only going to stay for a few days (Monday to Thursday) I opted for a hotel and was pretty happy with it. The highlight of staying there was the receptionist Mustafa who greeted me when I arrived and was on duty every day I was there except the last. I later found out that he was a history teacher, but was unable to get work in the city as work is allocated centrally and he had not been accepted. He was working at this job and also doing some private tutoring to families in the evening. It is a reminder of how often people are forced to work either very long hours or juggle multiple jobs just to survive, something which is happening more and more in the UK as well.
Exploring Edirne: A Blend of Cultures
My regular readers know I have a thing about public transport. In Edirne there are only buses and they are not that frequent and I was unable to find any timetables online. One thing that did please me though was the ease of payment, you just press your credit card against a machine beside the driver and your fare is instantly taken off. It appeared to be about 50p (60c US) per ride. Having said that, because I didn’t understand the routes I had to do an awful lot of walking. The places I walked to included the two most famous Mosques, the Selimiye and the II Bayezid Külliyesi complex. The latter was under some reconstruction when I was there but in the grounds there is a medical museum which I visited. Nearby is the Ali Pasha Bazaar which is a smaller version of the spice bazaar in Istanbul and had a colourful display of goods for sale. Some of the nearby shops and cafes were especially interesting as they often has signs in Bulgarian as well as Turkish reminding me of how close to the EU I was at this point.
The first meal I had on the evening I arrived was at a Korean restaurant. I felt a bit bad because it was my first meal in Türkiye and I should be eating Turkish, right? But I don’t see many Korean restaurants on my travels and it is a cuisine that I have wanted to try for some time now … so I went for it. However I did partake of the Turkish breakfast at the hotel. I do enjoy a buffet breakfast and this did not disappoint. I also tried Turkish tea for the first time – they like it strong and without milk but lots of sugar. Luckily for me the latter it usually comes separately and I never add sugar to anything except porridge so …
The Train to Istanbul: A Bargain Ride
The other priority I had was to get the train to Istanbul 2 days later but I had been unable to buy a ticket online as none of my credit or debit cards would work on the site (I later found out that only Turkish credit cards are accepted.) So I walked down to the Railway Station to find it deserted.
There were some notices on the windows and it took me a while to interpret them, but one said that there was no service until 1pm. Given that it was only 11.30 I decided to span out a coffee and croissant for about an hour, but eventually walked back to the ticket office and just sat and waited until it opened. When it did I was glad I waited as the ticket man asked for my passport to deliver the ticket (all tickets need a person’s ID) and then noticed I was over 65 so sold me a reduced rate ticket based on that. My 5 hour train ride was going to cost me the equivalent of £2.20 which has to be the bargain of the decade. I also needed a Turkish phone number to book the ride which I had as I had bought a SIM card the day before … but this might be difficult for someone dependent on an eSIM.
A journey across the river
One of the bus journeys I did try was to get across the river bridge in Edirne. The bridge spans the River Maritsa which also flows through Bulgaria and forms the border between Greece and Türkiye in some places. It is a lovely bridge – but very busy with traffic so if you decide to walk over it, do so with some caution. On the other side away from the city are some parks and the chance to take a horse drawn carriage through them. I also saw a road-train pass full of young children.
Onwards to Istanbul
On the day of departure I turned up at the station bright and early, but the train was already there waiting for me. I was struggling to get my case onto the train but without prompting a couple of young men on the platform helped me up with it. I also had someone on the train help me put it on the overhead rack and later another man helped me down with it and off the train, all with no asking from me.
The journey to Istanbul was slow and uneventful. As was to be expected, everyone was going there so the train filled up gradually at first but much more so as we stopped at stations towards the city. The train goes nowhere near the centre of Istanbul but ends its journey at Halkali about an hour away. From there I needed to get a local train to the centre and then a metro and bus (according to google maps) to my Airbnb in Besiktas. My journey to Istanbul had only just begun, but Edirne had already given me a taste of Türkiye’s warmth, history, and, yes, its complicated transport systems.
Next stop: the heart of Istanbul—stay tuned!
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