Departure February 10, 2023

Where the borders of Greece end, a magical city begins, an old imperial capital straight out of the Thousand and One Nights. The last border, the tri-national one, the “pin” on the map, you will hear them say the border in Kastanies. Nothing to testify that, ten minutes away, on the other side, an old imperial capital stretches between two rivers – the Evros and the Tunja. Adrianople was called by your grandparents and the Romans before them, Edirne you will find it on the maps today.

Departure from our offices at 06:00. With the necessary stops on our route, we arrive in Alexandroupolis, the crossroads of East and West, free time for lunch on the city’s beautiful beach.. We continue to Orestiada and the customs office of Kastania and after the control and free time in the duty free items we head to Karagats, (old Orestias). An area where Greeks lived in the past, but with the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 and in the context of the exchange of populations, it was granted to Turkey and its inhabitants “moved” as refugees to (New) Orestiada. Arrival in Edirne/Adrianople where we will get to know the city for the first time. Check-in at the hotel / Overnight stay.

Breakfast and we start our day with a first visit to Karagats. An attraction of the small village is the railway station, which houses the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Turkish University of Thrace. There is a carriage there, part of the famous Orian Express, and next to it is the Lausanne Treaty Memorial and Museum. We continue for the impressive health museum, this Museum is housed in a complex of buildings, founded by Sultan Beyazit II, in order for Edirne (Edirne) to have a hospital (Culigier). The Health Museum of Adrianople has about 40 rooms and the visitor can watch audio-visual material with the history and exhibits of the Museum.
An important element that makes the Health Museum special is the background music. Makamis of Byzantine and Arabic sounds that appeal to the visitor’s sense of hearing can be heard in all the halls. In addition to the above, the visitor is also able to utilize the sense of smell, since feng-shui is applied and the interactivity it has, as often thick scents of aromatic oils emerge and make the tour of its spaces more realistic
Museum. Last year, its extensive maintenance work, financed by the pharmaceutical company “Abdi Ibrahim”, was completed. The studies and plans of the restoration works carried out were submitted to the international organization “Merkuri”, based in N. York, and the 3rd prize was awarded for 2016 to the Museum of Edirne, which last year was visited by 235 thousand. people. Our tour continues to Selimiye Camii. One of the most important monuments in Turkey, built by Mimar Sinan, the most important architect of the Ottoman period. He considers it his most beautiful work and that with it he surpassed Hagia Sophia. Its construction was a great challenge for Sinan, since the Christians
architects considered it impossible to build a dome larger than that of Agia Sophia. The 4 minarets can be seen from far away wherever you stand in the city. Today the mosque is protected by UNESCO as a cultural heritage monument and functions as a museum with free entry. Then we will admire the Ethnological-Archaeological Museum of Art with impressive exhibits from the Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman periods. The museum of Islamic and Turkish art, which will
introduce you to Turkish life in the 19th century. The 3-bay Ots Serefeli Mosque, which was built between 1437 and 1447 by Sultan Murad II. The architect is unknown, but it is rumored that he was a paraplegic. The interest in this mosque is the style of its minarets. We will also see the Eski Camii and Pustem Pasha Karavan Serai, a restored traditional hotel, a 15th century inn building, in the center of the city.
But we left the best for last… Once our tour is complete we have free time on the pedestrian street of Saraclar. A neat and clean pedestrian street with shops selling clothes, food items and anything else you can think of with lots of benches to rest, fountains, lots of statues and people all day long. And we are not limited only to the main pedestrian street. All the picturesqueness of the city can be found in the cobbled alleys, right and left. There you will find treasures to photograph, people, houses and shops from another era. And of course, to get to know a place it is not enough to just walk around it and see its important and insignificant sights, you have to try its cuisine, taste and smell its goodies. We are in Turkey, our tastes and cuisine are similar. But here the flavors are more intense!!!! Those interested in finishing your day with a hammam, we recommend the Sokolu Mehmet Pasha Hammam, which operates and is famous as the best hammam in the city. Also, the Saray Hamami located behind the Selimiye Camii, for those who want to try a Turkish bath treatment. It’s a nice, relaxing experience. Just to cap off your night.

After our breakfast we will take the way back with the first stop in the unspoiled Orestiada where we will visit one of the most beautiful folklore museums. Free time for a short coffee in the city.. We continue our route where we will spend more time in the beautiful Alexandroupolis. With the necessary stops, we will arrive late at night in our city.

Phone Booking 694.349.1300

Participation fee: €155/person in a double or triple room with breakfast
€185/person in a single room with breakfast