The 17th century Turkish poet Nef'î declared, 'Is Edirne a city, or the rosegarden of heaven?' and in the 20th century Professor Suheyl Unver, author of many books about cultural history, said that loving Edirne was a form of worship. Admittedly, the paradise-like gardens of Edirne which so influenced both have now disappeared, but Edirne is still a city of great interest, with its old houses, mosques, kervansarays, imarets (public kitchens), bridges, fountains, churches, mansions, towers, hans, hamams and bazaar. This city of great antiquity, known as Adrianople to the Romans, is like an openair museum. The most celebrated monument of all is Selimiye Mosque built by the 16th century architect Mimar Sinan. Its graceful minarets soaring into the sky right in the centre of the city, the graceful interior and imposing exterior of this mosque are equally enchanting.
Following the Ottoman conquest of Edirne in 1361, the city succeeded Bursa as capital of the empire.

To reach Karaagac, an outlying suburb of Edirne, you must cross two historic bridges over the Tunca and Meric rivers. The most striking of these is the Meric Bridge or Yeni Bridge constructed in place of the former timber bridge in 1847. These lead to a broad cobbled avenue lined by tall trees which is said to have once been called Capital Road. The former Karaagac Train Station is an attractive building which now has a very different role as home to the Rectorate of Trakya University and to the Lausanne Museum containing memorabilia relating to the Lausanne Treaty. Next to the station building is the Lausanne Monument, perhaps the only monument commemorating the treaty.
Although Edirne at one time boasted 13 kervansarays for the use of merchants, today only a few are still standing, the most impressive of these being Rustem Pasa Kervansaray. The commercial heart of Edirne still beats in the old bazaars known as Bedesten, Arasta and Ali Pasa Carsisi.

Much else could be related about the city, but perhaps we should conclude by looking briefly at Edirne's distinctive cuisine. Tarhana soup, made of yogurt, flour and herbs, is as popular here today as it was at the sultan's table, and there are several renowned varieties of helva, particularly deva-i misk helva, made of high fat ewe's milk cheese and famous throughout Turkey. Both the modern cafés and traditional coffee houses around the university and in the central shopping districts are lively meeting places for people of all ages. Edirne's inhabitants are friendly and sociable, and the conversation hums as glasses of tea and cups of coffee come and go. This is a city which has been accustomed to visitors from near and far over the centuries, and although times have changed in many ways, traditional hospitality is still very much a part of life here.

Abdullah Kilic is a journalist.