Edirne is a historic city in northwestern Turkey, situated at the confluence of the Tunca and Meriç rivers near the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Once the Ottoman capital known as Adrianople, Edirne served as the empire's most important city from 1369 to 1453 before Mehmed II conquered Constantinople. Today the city is celebrated for the UNESCO-listed Selimiye Mosque — architect Mimar Sinan's acknowledged masterpiece — alongside a remarkable cluster of Ottoman mosques, bazaars, and palace ruins. Edirne hosts the Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival, one of the world's oldest sporting events, held annually for over 660 years at the riverside Sarayiçi grounds.
Top attractions
The most popular and significant attractions in Edirne.
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1
Selimiye Mosque
Designed by the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan and completed in 1575, this is widely regarded as his masterwork and the structural culmination of classical Ottoman mosque architecture. Its single vast dome, supported on eight pillars, rises higher than the Hagia Sophia's, and the four slender minarets mark the Edirne skyline from miles across the surrounding plain. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the building remains an active mosque as well as a monument.
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2
Beyazıt II Complex (Külliye)
Built in the late 15th century on the bank of the Tunca River, this külliye combines a mosque with what was once one of the Ottoman Empire's most advanced hospital and medical-teaching complexes, treating patients partly with music and water-sound therapy. Several of its rooms now house the Health Museum, with reconstructed scenes and instruments illustrating Ottoman-era medical practice. Its riverside setting, away from the town center, gives it a quieter, more spread-out feel than Edirne's central mosque sites.
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3
Eski Cami (Old Mosque)
Completed in 1414, this is the oldest of Edirne's major Ottoman mosques and represents an earlier, more compact style than the later Selimiye or Üç Şerefeli — a square, multi-domed hall rather than one soaring central dome. Its walls carry large-scale calligraphic inscriptions of Allah, Muhammad, and the early caliphs' names painted in bold black script, unusually prominent for a mosque of this age. It sits right in the commercial heart of town, next to the covered bazaars.
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4
Üç Şerefeli Mosque
Completed in 1447, this mosque takes its name ("three balconies") from one of its four minarets, which has three separate balconies at different heights and was a technical first for Ottoman architecture at the time. It marks a transitional moment between earlier Ottoman mosque design and the fully centralized-dome style Sinan would later perfect at Selimiye a century later, with a wide open courtyard preceding the prayer hall. Each of its four minarets was built with a different spiral pattern.
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5
Edirne Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum
This museum sits beside the Selimiye Mosque complex and covers the region's history in two strands: an archaeological collection with finds from Thrace and the ancient city of Hadrianopolis (Roman-era Edirne), and an ethnographic section with Ottoman-period costumes, embroidery, and household items tied to the city's craft traditions. It's a modest-sized museum rather than a major national collection, suited to an hour rather than a half-day visit.
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6
Edirne Palace Ruins (Saray-ı Cedîd-i Âmire)
These are the scattered remains of what was once one of the largest Ottoman imperial palace complexes, built up over the 15th to 17th centuries as a secondary seat of the sultanate outside Istanbul. Much of it was destroyed by explosions and later conflict in the 19th and early 20th centuries, so what's left today is fragmentary — foundations, arches, and isolated walls spread across the Sarayiçi river island rather than an intact building. It rewards visitors more interested in the history and setting than in a polished monument.
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7
Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Arena (Sarayiçi)
This riverside ground on the Sarayiçi island hosts the Kırkpınar oil wrestling festival, one of the oldest continuously held sporting competitions in the world, dating back to the 14th century. Outside festival dates the arena is just open grassy grounds beside the Tunca River, so the atmosphere depends entirely on timing — during the festival it's packed with wrestlers competing in leather trousers (kispet) covered in olive oil, and drum-and-zurna music runs throughout.
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8
Ali Paşa Bazaar
This is a long covered market street built in the early 17th century, commissioned as part of an Ottoman charitable foundation and still functioning as Edirne's main commercial bazaar today. It runs in a straight covered line rather than the maze layout of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, lined with shops selling textiles, local sweets, and household goods. Edirne is particularly known for its regional soap and its deep-fried liver dish, and both show up in shops and stalls along this stretch.
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9
Muradiye Mosque
Built in the 1430s under Sultan Murad II, this mosque is set apart from Edirne's other imperial mosques on a hillside above the Tunca river. It's known for the Iznik tile panels around its mihrab, made in the early, cobalt-and-turquoise "cuerda seca" style that predates the famous Iznik ware of the later Ottoman period. The building itself has the T-shaped, twin-domed plan typical of early Ottoman "zaviye" mosques, built to double as a hostel for travelling dervishes.
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10
Gazi Mihal Bridge
This stone bridge over the Tunca river takes its name from Gazi Mihal Bey, an early Ottoman commander of Byzantine origin who financed its construction in the 15th century, though parts of the crossing are thought to sit on older Byzantine foundations. It's one of several historic bridges around Edirne that reflect the city's role as an Ottoman capital straddling the Tunca and Meriç rivers. The bridge is still walkable today and gives a low, close-up view of the river rather than a monument you view from a distance.
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Practical information
What you need to know before you go.
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- Müze Kart available at ticket offices for ~750 TRY (~$22.50 USD) — covers 3 major sites, Mosques are free; bring a headscarf (for women) and socks — shoe removal required, Most historic sites are within 1 km of each other; comfortable walking shoes recommended, ATMs on Saraçlar Caddesi; major card acceptance at hotels but cash preferred in markets
Tips for visiting attractions
Make the most of your sightseeing time.
Buy the Müze Kart (Museum Card) at any of the main museums to save on entry to Selimiye, Beyazıt II, and the Archaeological Museum.
All major mosques are free; dress modestly and remove shoes.
Visit mosques outside prayer times for best access.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an entrance fee for Selimiye Mosque?
Entering the mosque itself is free. The small museum within the complex charges 150 TRY (~$4.50 USD); the Müze Kart covers this.
When is the Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival?
Kırkpınar is held annually in late June or early July. The exact dates shift slightly each year; check kirkpinar.org for the current year's schedule.
Can I visit all the major sites in one day?
Yes. Selimiye, Eski Cami, Üç Şerefeli, the Bedesten, and the Archaeological Museum can all be covered in one full walking day. The Beyazıt II Complex and Palace Ruins require an extra half day or a second day.