Tekirdağ, West Marmara Region, Türkiye

History : 20th century | Bishopric | Geography : Location | Tekirdağ today | Tekirdağ rakı | Attractions : Tekirdağ province

🇹🇷 Tekirdağ is a city in Turkey. It is a part of the region historically known as East Thrace, located on the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe. Tekirdağ is a commercial centre with a harbour for agricultural products (the harbour is being expanded to accommodate a new rail link to the main freight line through Thrace). It is also home to Martas and the BOTAŞ Terminal, both of them important for trade activities in the Marmara Region. The town's best known product remains Tekirdağ rakı although it is also known for its cherries, celebrated with a festival every June.

The proximity of the Greek and Bulgarian borders means that there are honorary consulates for both countries in Tekirdağ.

Ferries from Tekirdağ sail to the nearby Marmara Islands during the summer.

The nearest airport is Tekirdağ Çorlu Airport (TEQ) although there are many more flights to Istanbul Airport (IST).

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History The history of the city of Tekirdağ dates back to around 4000 BC. In Xenophon's Anabasis it is mentioned as part of the kingdom of the Thracian king Seuthes. It is also mentioned as Bisanthe by Herodotus (VII, 137). The city was a Samian colony.

Procopius chronicled the town's restoration by Justinian I in the 6th century AD. In 813 and again in 1206, after the Battle of Rodosto, it was sacked by the Bulgarians, but it continued to appear as a place of considerable importance in later Byzantine times. The 11th-century Byzantine historian Michael Attaleiates owned property in Raidestos which he described in his will. From 1204 to 1235 the town was ruled by the Venetians following the Latin occupation of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.

In the Ottoman period the city was successively a part of the Rumelia Eyalet, then of the Province of the Kapudan Pasha, the Silistra Eyalet, and Edirne Vilayet. After 1849 it became the seat of the Sanjak of Tekfürtaği.

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History: 20th century Tekirdağ was occupied twice by the Russian army: firstly, on 22 August 1829 during Russo-Turkish War (1828-1829) and then on 1 February 1878 during the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878). After these wars, the city returned to Ottoman rule.

In 1905, the city had a population of about 35,000, of whom about half were Greeks.

Tekirdağ was occupied by the Bulgarian army on 11 November 1912. The city was liberated on 13 July 1913.

Finally, Tekirdağ was occupied by the Greek army on 20 July 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922). After the signing of the Armistice of Mudanya, the city was given back to Turkey on 13 November 1922. Under the terms of the 1923 agreement for the Exchange of Greek Orthodox and Muslim Populations between the two countries, the Greek Christians of Tekirdağ were all forced to leave, their place taken by Muslim Turks from Greece.

In December 1934, a convoy of 1,583 Turkish speaking Muslims from Dobruja and Ada Kaleh settled in Tekirdağ.

For many years Tekirdağ served as a depot for the produce of Edirne province. However, its trade suffered badly when Alexandroupolis became the terminus of the railway up the river Maritsa.

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Bishopric Rhaedestus remains a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church. However, Roman Catholic Church activity has long ceased.

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Geography: Location Tekirdağ is situated on the northern coast of the Sea of Marmara, 135 km (84 miles) west of Istanbul. Its picturesque bay is backed by the promontory of the mountain which gives its name to the city, Tekir Dağı (ancient Combos), a spur of about 2000 ft. that rises into the hilly plateau to the north. Between Tekirdağ and Şarköy is another mountain, Ganos Dağı.

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Tekirdağ today The Tekirdağ area is the site of many holiday homes, as the city is only two hours drive from Istanbul via a new four-lane highway. The villages of Şarköy, Mürefte and Kumbağ are particularly popular with Turkish tourists. The Marmara Sea is polluted but there are still a number of public beaches near Tekirdağ, especially the Yeniçiftlik beaches.

Most Ottoman wooden buildings have been replaced by concrete apartment blocks although some are being restored or replaced with attractive replicas. Except for the, and the narrow streets that help one imagine life in the Ottoman period, the city lacks antique charm. One reason to visit is the local delicacy, the small spicy cylindrical grilled meatballs called Tekirdağ köftesi, traditionally followed by courses of a sweet local cheese and semolina pudding.

The inland parts of Tekirdağ province offer fertile farmland suitable for winter wheat, sunflowers, cherries and grapes for wine-making.

Both the east–west highway (the Via Egnatia of Roman times) and the highway north toward Muratlı and Lüleburgaz are four lanes. There is a prison next to the rakı distillery and another north of the city on the road to Muratlı.

On the eastern edge of the city is the Namık Kemal University, founded in 2006, which has three faculties.

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Tekirdağ rakı This part of Turkey is well known for its high quality rakı. State-owned until the 1990s, the distilleries are now in private hands and the wine and rakı industries are undergoing a renewal despite being hampered by high taxation on alcohol.

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Attractions In Tekirdağ • The Rüstem Paşa Mosque, built by the Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan, in 1553 • The Tekirdağ Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography contains archaeological artefacts found in and around the province, as well as ethnographical items used by the residents of the region. • The Namık Kemal House Museum is devoted to the life and works of theTurkish nationalist poet Namık Kemal (1840–1888). • The Rakoczi Museum is an 18th-century Turkish house, where the Hungarian national hero, Francis II Rákóczi lived during his exile from 1720 until his death in 1735. Today, it is the property of Hungary. • Of all Turkey's many statues of Atatürk, the one in Teikrdağ town centre is the only one that was made exactly life-size.

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Attractions: Tekirdağ province • The Kutman Wine Museum is at Mürefte in Şarköy.

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Tekirdağ, West Marmara Region, Türkiye 

Tekirdağ has a population of over 204,001 people. Tekirdağ also forms the centre of the wider Tekirdağ Province which has a population of over 1,081,065 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Tekirdağ see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Tekirdağ has links with:

🇩🇪 Bayreuth, Germany 🇧🇬 Kardzhali, Bulgaria 🇬🇷 Kavala, Greece 🇭🇺 Kecskemét, Hungary 🇮🇹 Montevago, Italy 🇭🇺 Sárospatak, Hungary 🇧🇬 Sliven, Bulgaria 🇷🇴 Techirghiol, Romania
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Tekirdağ is: -152.485,-40.979

Locations Near: Tekirdağ 27.5152,40.9789

🇹🇷 Ergene 27.697,41.241 d: 32.9  

🇹🇷 Çorlu 27.8,41.15 d: 30.5  

🇹🇷 Lüleburgaz 27.35,41.4 d: 48.8  

🇹🇷 Çerkezköy 28,41.283 d: 52.9  

🇹🇷 Siliviri 28.233,41.067 d: 61  

🇹🇷 Silivri 28.26,41.08 d: 63.4  

🇹🇷 Bandırma 27.972,40.356 d: 79.3  

🇹🇷 Kırklareli 27.219,41.734 d: 87.5  

🇹🇷 Gelibolu 26.667,40.4 d: 96.2  

🇹🇷 Büyükçekmece 28.585,41.019 d: 89.9  

Antipodal to: Tekirdağ -152.485,-40.979

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 17393.6  

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 16942.4  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 16562.4  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 16465.3  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 13259.7  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 13142.3  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 13124.8  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 13123.1  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 13122.6  

🇺🇸 Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 13067.8  

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