East Thrace orEastern Thrace,[a] also known asTurkish Thrace orEuropean Turkey, is the part ofTurkey that is geographically inSoutheast Europe.[1] Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest city isIstanbul, which straddles theBosporus between Europe and Asia. East Thrace is of historic importance as it is next to a major sea trade corridor and constitutes what remains of the once-vastOttoman region ofRumelia. It is currently also of specificgeostrategic importance because the sea corridor, which includestwo narrow straits, provides access to theMediterranean Sea from theBlack Sea for the navies of five countries:Russia,Ukraine,Romania,Bulgaria, andGeorgia. The region also serves as a future connector of existing Turkish, Bulgarian, and Greekhigh-speed rail networks.Due to the guest worker agreement with Turkey and Germany, someTurks in Germany originally come from Eastern Thrace, mostly from theKırklareli Province.[2]
East Thrace sometimes refers to the eastern part of the historical region ofThrace. It is also used for the part of Thrace that is insideTurkey. The area includes all the territories of theTurkish provinces ofEdirne,Tekirdağ andKırklareli, as well as those territories on theEuropean continent of the provinces ofÇanakkale andIstanbul. The land borders of East Thrace were defined by theTreaty of Constantinople (1913) and theBulgarian-Ottoman convention (1915) and were reaffirmed by theTreaty of Lausanne.
East Thrace has an area of 23,757 km2 (9,172 sq mi), 3.1% of Turkey's internal area; the population density is around 515/km2, compared to about 98/km2 for Asiatic Turkey. The two continents are separated by theDardanelles, theBosphorus (collectively known as theTurkish straits) and theSea of Marmara, a route of about 361 km (224 mi). The southernmost part of eastern Thrace is called theGallipoli peninsula. East Thrace is bordered on the west byGreece and on the north byBulgaria, with theAegean Sea to the southwest and theBlack Sea to the northeast.[3][4]
| Province (part) | Area km2 | Population (2022) | Density /km2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Çanakkale (Europe) | 1,528 | 63,016 | 41 |
| Edirne | 6,074 | 414,714 | 68 |
| Istanbul (Europe) | 3,563 | 10,241,510 | 2,874 |
| Kırklareli | 6,278 | 369,347 | 59 |
| Tekirdağ | 6,313 | 1,142,451 | 181 |
| East Thrace | 23,756 | 12,231,038 | 515 |
| % of national | 3.1% | 14.3% | 452% |
The area has a hybridmediterranean climate/humid subtropical climate on the Aegean Sea coast and the Marmara Sea coast, and anoceanic climate on the Black Sea coast. Summers are warm to hot, humid and moderately dry whereas winters are cold and wet and sometimes snowy. The coastal climate keeps the temperatures relatively mild.
East Thrace was the setting for several important events in history and legend, including:
During theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878) and theBalkan Wars (1912–1913), MuslimMuhacir of various ethnic groups from the former Ottoman territories in the Balkans, were forced to flee toward eastern Thrace throughexpulsions, violence andmassacres, followed by further emigration caused by the 1923–24Population exchange between Greece and Turkey.[5]
Prior to that the distribution of ethnoreligious groups in the localsanjaks was as follows:
| Ottoman Official Statistics, 1910[6] | |||||||
| Sanjak | Turks | Greeks | Bulgarians | Others | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edirne | 128,000 | 113,500 | 31,500 | 14,700 | 287,700 | ||
| Kırk Kilise | 53,000 | 77,000 | 28,500 | 1,150 | 159,650 | ||
| Tekirdağ | 63,500 | 56,000 | 3,000 | 21,800 | 144,300 | ||
| Gelibolu | 31,500 | 70,500 | 2,000 | 3,200 | 107,200 | ||
| Çatalca | 18,000 | 48,500 | — | 2,340 | 68,840 | ||
| Istanbul | 450,000 | 260,000 | 6,000 | 130,000 | 846,000 | ||
| Total % | 744,000 46.11% | 625,500 38.76% | 71,000 4.40% | 173,190 10.74% | 1,613,690 | ||
| Ecumenical Patriarchate Statistics, 1912 | |||||||
| Total % | 604,500 36.20% | 655,600 39.27% | 71,800 4.30% | 337,600 20.22% | 1,669,500 | ||
The Muslimmillet was recorded as Turkish, while the church members of the Ecumenical Patriarchate were recorded asGreek.
In the past century, modern East Thrace was the main component of the territory of theAdrianople Vilayet, which excluded theConstantinople Vilayet, but includedWest Thrace and parts of theRhodopes andSakar. A publication from December 21, 1912, in the Belgian magazineOns Volk Ontwaakt (‘Our Nation Awakes’) estimated 1,006,500 inhabitants in the vilayet:[7]
|
21st century East Thrace constitutes what remains of TurkishRumelia, which once stretched as far north as Hungary and as far west as Bosnia. Rumelia was lost piecemeal from 1699 onwards, until in 1912 the bulk of it was lost in theFirst Balkan War. Some small regains were made during theSecond Balkan War. The current borders were set forth in theTreaty of Constantinople (1913) and theBulgarian–Ottoman convention (1915), and were reaffirmed in theTreaty of Lausanne.
Huge chunk of the population are descendants of theMuhacir, such asBalkan Turks,Bulgarian Turks in Turkey,Amuca tribe,Albanians in Turkey,Bosniaks in Turkey,Gajal,Pomaks in Turkey,Megleno-Romanians,Vallahades,Crimean Tatars in Turkey,Circassians in Turkey, andRomani people in Turkey live there.[8]
Some tourist attractions are theEdirne Museum,Complex of Sultan Bayezid II Health Museum,Treaty of Lausanne Monument and Museum,Kırklareli Museum, and theEdirne Palace. There are several historical religious buildings, such as theSelimiye Mosque,Üç Şerefeli Mosque,Old Mosque,Muradiye Mosque, and theGrand Synagogue of Edirne. There are also historical bridges, such as theFatih Bridge,Meriç Bridge, andUzunköprü Bridge.
Natural attractions include theLake Gala National Park,İğneada Floodplain Forests National Park,Lake Saka Nature Reserve, andDupnisa Cave.
Since 1360, theoil wrestling tournamentKırkpınar is held annually near Edirne; usually in late June. TheRomani festivalKakava is held annually in Edirne andKırklareli.
In Eastern Thrace theRepublican People's Party andKemalism traditionally dominate.[9][10][11] A scandal in Turkey was triggered by the statement of CHP Büyükçekmece Council Member Eren Savaş in May 2023 that Eastern Thrace should be separated from Turkey.[12][13][14]
| Main peninsulas | |
|---|---|
| Peninsulas in Thrace | |
| Peninsulas in Anatolia | |
| Related geographical features | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
41°9′13″N27°22′0″E / 41.15361°N 27.36667°E /41.15361; 27.36667
