Marmara Cities

The route, day by day

1. 1

   Day 1 to 2

   Istanbul: Arriving on the Historic Peninsula

   

   You land in Istanbul and take the metro or the Havaist bus into the city, buying an Istanbulkart on the way; it is not valid for the ferry to Bursa, but it covers everything in the city. Two nights in Sultanahmet or, quieter and prettier, in Kadırga or Kumkapı, mid-range around CHF 80 (about EUR 86). The first afternoon belongs to the neighbourhood: Hagia Sophia from outside, the Hippodrome, the cistern, and in the evening fish in Kumkapı. The second day is the Ottoman day that fits the route: Topkapı Palace in the morning with an online ticket, then the Süleymaniye Mosque, Sinan's main work in Istanbul, which you will later compare with Edirne, and in the afternoon the Rüstem Pasha Mosque by the Spice Bazaar, completely clad in İznik tiles, a preview of day five. If you have been to Istanbul many times, take the ferry to Üsküdar and Çamlıca Hill instead. On to Bursa: BUDO or İDO ferry from Eminönü or Yenikapı to Mudanya, two hours, then bus or dolmuş to Bursa, 30 kilometres, 40 minutes, around three hours door to door in total.

   Tours at this stop: Ottoman Istanbul with the Süleymaniye ↗Bosphorus ferry and Üsküdar ↗

   Open the Istanbul travel guide →
2. 2

   Day 3 to 4

   Bursa: Green Mosque, İskender and Uludağ

   

   Bursa was the first Ottoman capital from 1326 to 1365, and the early buildings show it, still mixing Seljuk with Byzantine: the Green Mosque with its turquoise tiles, the Green Tomb opposite, the Ulu Camii with its twenty domes and wall calligraphy, and the tombs of the first sultans Osman and Orhan up in Tophane. Two nights in a central hotel near the Koza Han, mid-range around CHF 70 (about EUR 75). The first afternoon is for the old town and İskender kebab at the inventor's, thin döner on flatbread with tomato sauce and hot butter; one plate is the limit. The second day: early to Cumalıkızık, the Ottoman village with breakfast in a courtyard, 15 kilometres by city bus, then the Teleferik cable car up Uludağ, 2,000 metres high, view over the plain, cool at the top. In the evening a thermal bath in Çekirge, the cheapest spa night of your life. On to İznik: bus from the Bursa terminal, 85 kilometres via Yenişehir, an hour and a half, several times a day.

   Tours at this stop: Ottoman Bursa on foot ↗Uludağ cable car and Cumalıkızık ↗

   Open the Bursa travel guide →
3. 3

   Day 5

   İznik: Councils, Tiles and an Evening by the Lake

   

   İznik is ancient Nicaea, site of two councils and later the workshop for the tiles that adorn every Ottoman mosque. The town fits into a day and an evening: you arrive at midday, check into a lakeside guesthouse, mid-range around CHF 55 (about EUR 59), and walk to the Hagia Sophia of İznik in the town centre, where the seventh council met in 787, today a mosque. Then the circuit of the Roman city walls with their four gates, the Istanbul Gate in the north and the Lefke Gate in the east being the best, and in between the Green Mosque with its tiled minaret and the museum in the Nilüfer Hatun Imaret. The afternoon is for the workshops: two dozen studios again work with quartz ceramics to old recipes, so buy here, not in Istanbul, where the same bowl costs three times as much. In the evening lake fish on the shore, sunset over the water, then silence. On to Edirne: bus to Yalova, 60 kilometres, one hour, ferry to Yenikapı, 75 minutes, metro to Esenler terminal and bus to Edirne, two and a half hours, six to seven hours in all, start early.

   Tours at this stop: İznik ceramics workshop visit ↗City walls and Hagia Sophia of İznik ↗

   Open the İznik travel guide →
4. 4

   Day 6 to 7

   Edirne: Selimiye, Liver and the Bridges

   

   Edirne was the second capital from 1365 to 1453 and has the building the route is worth it for: the Selimiye Mosque, Sinan's late work, a 31 metre dome on eight pillars, inside a single room of light. Go twice, in the afternoon and early in the morning, when you are alone. Two nights in an old town hotel, mid-range around CHF 60 (about EUR 64). The first evening is for ciğer, thinly sliced, crisply fried calf's liver with chilli and onions; the restaurants around Saraçlar Street have argued for decades over the best. The second day: the Old Mosque and the Üç Şerefeli Camii with its three-balconied minaret, the Ali Pasha Bazaar, then over the Ottoman bridges across the Tundzha to the Beyazıt II complex with its museum of medical history, where in the 15th century the mentally ill were treated with music and water, the city's second World Heritage Site. Come at the end of June for Kırkpınar, the oil wrestling, the world's oldest sporting festival. On to Istanbul: bus from Edirne to Esenler terminal, 240 kilometres on the O-3 motorway, two and a half hours, or the regional train to Halkalı, slower but prettier.

   Tours at this stop: Selimiye and Edirne old town ↗Edirne day trip from Istanbul ↗

   Open the Edirne travel guide →
5. 5

   Day 8

   Istanbul: Back with New Eyes and Flight Home

   

   After Bursa, İznik and Edirne you see Istanbul differently: the tiles in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque are now İznik, the Süleymaniye is now the forerunner of the Selimiye, and Constantinople is what the Ottomans finally got in 1453 after 130 years in Bursa and Edirne. If your return flight leaves in the evening, you have a day for what is missing: the Chora Church with its Byzantine mosaics in Edirnekapı, right by the Theodosian land walls, along which you can walk a stretch, then by bus down to the Golden Horn and by ferry to Eminönü, a last balık ekmek, the fish sandwich from the boat, a last çay on the Galata Bridge. If you fly in the morning, spend the last night near the airport or take the night bus from Edirne and continue straight to the airport. Presents: you already have the İznik ceramics, and in Istanbul lokum and tea from the Spice Bazaar join them. Return journey: metro M11 or Havaist bus to Istanbul Airport, 45 to 90 minutes depending on traffic, flight to Zurich three hours.

   Tours at this stop: Chora Church and the land walls ↗

   Open the Istanbul travel guide →

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What the route costs

Rough total per person for the whole route, mid-range, travelling as a pair. Flights and hotels vary by season; details are on the destination pages.

Money & payment: You pay in Turkish lira (TRY). The exchange rate moves a lot, which is why all prices here are given in francs and euros. Cards are accepted almost everywhere; you need cash for the dolmuş, markets and tips.

Tips for the route

Frequently asked questions about Marmara Cities