Tekirdağ is a provincial capital on the northern shore of the Sea of Marmara, about 150 km west of Istanbul in Thrace, the European part of Turkey. It is best known for two things: Tekirdağ Rakısı, considered the finest rakı in Turkey and sold across the country, and Tekirdağ köfte, a distinctive local meatball that draws visitors from Istanbul on weekends.
The surrounding countryside is wine country. The road south through Küçükkuyu, Mürefte, and along the shore toward Saroz Bay is the Mürefte wine route — vineyards where some of Turkey's best grapes are grown, with wineries offering tastings. The road is scenic but narrow — suitable for cars and minibuses but not coaches.
Tekirdağ itself has a pleasant waterfront promenade on the Marmara, the Tekirdağ Archaeological Museum, and the Rákóczi Museum — the house where Hungarian national hero Ferenc Rákóczi II spent his last years in exile. The broader province stretches from the Black Sea in the north to the Aegean at Saros Bay, with good beaches along the southern coast.