Lüleburgaz

Lüleburgaz is a city in Eastern Thrace, the European part of Turkey, 170 km (110 mi) west of Istanbul. It's industrial, with a population of 122,635 in 2020, and with another 30,000 living in the nearby villages. The main reason to visit is its 16th century Sokollu Mehmet Paşa Mosque.

Understand

Mimar Sinan bridge

Nothing remains here of ancient Bergule or Arcadiopolis. This fertile lowland area was fought over by Attila the Hun and by the Byzantines, and in the 1560s a series of causeways and bridges was built across Thrace by the Ottomans. The river at Lüleburgaz was one they spanned in this way, and bridge and city mosque were built by order of the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmet Paşa (1506-1579).

The area was again fought over in the early 20th century as the Ottoman empire crumbled. The 1912 Battle of Lule Burgas, when Bulgaria invaded, saw the loss of about 20,000 on each side. The Ottomans held their line here for four days then fell back to Çatalca, so the town was occupied and badly damaged by Bulgarian troops. After the First World War, much of Thrace was initially awarded to Greece, so they in turn occupied, until the Treaty of Lausanne awarded this area to Turkey.

Lüleburgaz became an overgrown market town astride the main highway between Istanbul and the west, and the population boomed from the 1980s. Its main business is based on agriculture such as cereal crops, sunflower oil and dairy farming. It hasn't attracted the heavy industry seen further east around Çorlu.

Get in

By bus

Istanbul Seyahat run every two hours from Istanbul Esenler to Lüleburgaz (2 hours, 85 TL) and continue west either to Babeski and Uzunköprü or to Hayrabolu. Pamukkale Turizm also run from Istanbul Esenler hourly, so there's price competition. Metro Turizm run a slower, pricier route.

Istanbul Seyahat buses run direct from IST airport every two hours (2 hours, 100 TL), and from Tekirdağ hourly (30 min), and continue to Babeski and Edirne.

The 1 bus station is on the main highway D100.

By train

There are two regional services daily from Istanbul Halkali at around 08:30 and 18:00, taking 2 hr 45 min via Çerkezköy and Çorlu. From Lüleburgaz the morning train continues west to Edirne and Kapıkule on the border with Bulgaria, while the evening train runs to Uzunköprü (near the Greek border, but with no crossing point). The eastbound trains leave for Istanbul around 09:00 and 16:30; in 2022 a single fare is 33 TL. Halkali is 15 km west of Istanbul city centre but linked by a frequent metro train.

The overnight train from Sofia and Bucharest rumbles through in the small hours but doesn't stop here.

• 2 Lüleburgaz railway station (Lüleburgaz Tren İstasyonu) (6 km south of town in the village of Durak. Get a taxi or dolmuş from city centre). (updated Jul 2023)

By car

By road from Istanbul city or airport, or from Edirne and the border, follow E80 / O-3 to the turnoff 10 km north of town. D565 then leads you to D100 at the east edge of town: for most localities this is quicker and with less risk of getting lost than by following the old direct road to the centre.

Get around

The centre is compact and walkable, but it's a sprawling city. Buses ply along the main streets to the outer burbs. Taxis wait in town centre and by the bus station.

Car hire is available from Poy, Çaki, Erdinç Oto and Tutkunlar. Visitors will generally do better to hire from the airport or city.

See

• 1 Mimar Sinan Bridge is one of the series of bridges and causeways laid out in the 16th century to carry the Istanbul-Edirne highway. It's nowadays drab with modern additions, choked with traffic and with sidewalks only suitable for thin pointy people. D100 the modern highway crosses the river 300 m south.
• Kadı Ali Mosque at the entrance to town from the bridge was built in the 1360s and is still used for worship.

Zindan Baba tomb

• Zindan Baba Tomb stands at the corner of Istanbul Cd and Edirne Cd, a stubby brick tower that looks like a waterworks. The tomb is in the basement: Zindan means dungeon, but the identity of the Baba or old man in the dungeon has become shrouded in lurid legend. Perhaps this historical uncertainty was what provoked the Bulgarian occupying army to wreck it. Tomb and building have been restored but were closed in 2021. An ancient fountain stands outside at the crossroads.
• 2 Sokollu Mehmet Paşa Mosque and religious complex was designed by Mimar Sinan and built in the 1560s. The mosque is a fine building with a single minaret and a marble mihrab, minbar and loge. The ablutions fountain acquired its fancy roof in the 19th century. The madrasa is porticoed around three sides of a pleasant courtyard. A domed arasta - passageway - lined with small shops leads into the caravansarai, of which only one wall remains, and the guest house and soup kitchen have gone. The hammam has been converted into cafes and offices.
• 3 Kepirtepe is one of the many tumuli that dot the landscape: artificial burial mounds for Thracian nobles from circa 1000 BCE. This one is prominent as it's next to D100, just beyond Yenibedir 10 km southeast of town towards Çorlu.

Do

Within Sokollu Mehmet Paşa Mosque

• Gyms and fitness centres are Elit Spor Merkezi on Istanbul Cd, and Aksu almost next door.
• Football: Lüleburgazspor toil in the Regional Amateur League, the fifth tier of soccer in Turkey. They play at City Stadium (aka 8 Kasım Stadyon) south side of town, at the junction of D100 with Istasyon Cd.

Buy

• Supermarkets are Migros at Istanbul Cd 7 (daily 08:30-22:00), Onur at Okullar Cd 7 (daily 08:00-22:00), Kanaat at Çalı Çeşme Sk 1, (daily 08:00-22:00) and Bim at Istanbul Cd 40 (daily 09:00-21:00).
• Some dozen banks have ATMs around Istanbul Cd.

Eat

• Eating places are strung along or near main drag Istanbul Cd. They include Aytaç Çorbacısı, Tuna Salonu, Park Et Lokantası, Üzüm Büfe, Doktor Kuru and Komşu Büfe.
• Agapi Balık, Eski Kırklareli Cd 17/D (one block east of Istanbul Cd), ☏ +90 288 417 9899. Daily 13:00-01:00. Good fish restaurant with garden seating. (updated Dec 2021)

Drink

Ablutions fountain

• Many cafes serve beer. Those that are primarily bars, all central, include The End Lounge, Zafer Bira Salonu, Birada, Lokal Beer Cafe and Kereviz 15.
• Hamitabat is a wine-growing village in the hills to the north, with Arcadia and Bakucha vineyards.

Büyükkarıştıran southeast has Çamlıca winery.

• DAS Bira is an independent brewery in Büyükkarıştıran, on D100 to the southeast.

Sleep

• 1 Pera Hotel, Fetfane Sk, off Istanbul Cd, ☏ +90 288 417 1775. Clean comfy central place. B&B double 500 TL. (updated Dec 2021)
• 2 Yaldiz Otel, Edirne Cd 49, ☏ +90 288 412 2555. Earns good reviews for comfort and service. (updated Dec 2021)
• A dozen other places in town got rotten reviews in 2021.

Connect

Lüleburgaz and its approach highways have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of Dec 2021, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

Spelling things out by radio? "Lima" is the standard word for the letter L, but in Turkey you might instead say "Lüleburgaz" as it's distinctive.

Go next

• Babaeski 20 km west has a similar old bridge and pair of mosques.
• Edirne the former capital has a rich array of early Ottoman architecture.
• Tekirdağ is the nearest point on the Marmara coast and has a beach resort at Kumbağ.
• Cross the Istranca Mountains north for the Black Sea resorts of İğneada and Kıyıköy.

Routes through Lüleburgaz

Edirne ← Junction (N / S) ←	W  E	→ Çorlu → Istanbul
Demirköy ← Junction (W / E) ←	N  S	→ Tekirdağ → Balıkesir