Edirne sits in the far north-west of Turkey, near the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. The ancient Hadrianopolis, founded by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in 125 AD, served as the capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1363 until the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. That century of imperial attention left behind some of the finest Ottoman architecture anywhere.
The Selimiye Mosque, designed by the great architect Sinan and completed in 1575, is the city's masterpiece — he considered it his finest work, surpassing even the Süleymaniye in Istanbul. Its vast dome appears to float above the prayer hall, and the four slender minarets are the tallest in Turkey. The Üç Şerefeli Mosque (1447) and the Old Mosque (Eski Cami, 1414) are also worth visiting. The city's bazaar quarter retains its Ottoman-era covered markets.
Edirne is also famous for the Kırkpınar oil wrestling festival, held annually since the 14th century — claimed to be the oldest continuously running sporting competition in the world. The city makes an easy day trip from Istanbul or a stop on the way to Greece or Bulgaria.