Kırklareli

Kırklareli, city, northwestern (European) Turkey. It lies in the foothills of the Yıldız (Istranca) Mountains. Formerly called Kırk Kılıse (“Forty Churches”), it developed chiefly because of its position on the shortest route over the mountains from the north to Istanbul, 100 miles (160 km) southeast. The city has numerous Ottoman monuments, including the 15th-century Mosque of Hızır Bey. An important trade centre (chiefly in dairy products, cereals, and tobacco), it is linked by a branch line with the Edirne-Istanbul railway.

The area in which Kırklareli lies is bordered on the north by Bulgaria and on the east by the Black Sea. North of Kırklareli there are dense, deciduous forests that are a major source of Turkey’s timber industry. The region south of the city produces wheat, barley, sugar beets, grapes, and tobacco. Also south of Kırklareli, on the Edirne-Istanbul route, is Lüleburgaz (ancient Arcadiopolis), site of some noteworthy Ottoman buildings, including a 16th-century mosque built by the architect Sinan. Pop. (2000) city, 53,221.