If you're planning a trip to Turkey and looking to explore beyond the usual hotspots, the Sea of Marmara region is often overlooked but holds some real gems. While it may feel more Balkan than exotic, it’s home to some exceptional early Ottoman sites, including Edirne and Bursa, both rich in history and stunning architecture.
If those capture your interest, Lüleburgaz and İznik offer fascinating follow-ups. Though much of the Thracian coast is underwhelming, there are a few standout spots — Kıyıköy, a charming beach-and-fortress town on the Black Sea, and Erikli, a laid-back resort on the Saros Gulf.
To cross the Sea of Marmara, Tekirdağ has ferry connections to the southern shore, while Gelibolu (Gallipoli) offers ro-ro ferries to Lapseki, making for an easy and scenic journey.
For evocative inland scenery in the southern Marmara, two shallow lakes, Uluabat Gölü and Manyas Gölü, support a dwindling fishing community and a bird sanctuary respectively. The Uludağrange above Bursa attracts skiers in winter and hikers in summer, while Cumalıkızık at the base of the mountain is a showcase village.
Before the wars and population exchanges of the early twentieth century, much of the local population was Greek (or Bulgarian) Orthodox, though all the larger towns held substantial Jewish and Armenian communities. After the Turkish Republic was established, massive immigration – both internal and from abroad – changed the mix. The resultant ethnic stew includes people of Çerkez (Circassian), Artvinli and Greek Muslim descent, as well as a large settled Romany population, but consists predominantly of Pomak, Bosnian and Macedonian Muslims, plus Bulgarian Turks. All these groups had, in fact, been trickling in for decades before 1923, as Austro-Hungarian or Orthodox nationalist victories in the Balkans made their previous homes inhospitable to Turks or Slavic Muslims.
Top image: Cumalikizik, Turkey © Hakan Eliacik/Shutterstock
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