East Thrace

East Thraceoreastern Thrace(Turkish:Doğu Trakyaor simplyTrakya;Greek:Ανατολική Θράκη,romanized:Anatolikí Thráki;Bulgarian:Източна Тракия,romanized:Iztochna Trakiya), also known asTurkish ThraceorEuropean Turkey,is the part ofTurkeythat is geographically a part ofSoutheast Europe.^[1]It accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest city isIstanbul,which straddles theBosporusbetween 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-vastOttomanregion ofRumelia.It is currently also of specificgeostrategic importancebecause the sea corridor, which includestwo narrow straits,provides access to theMediterranean Seafrom theBlack Seafor 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 railnetworks. Due to the guest worker agreement with Turkey and Germany, someTurks in Germanyoriginally come from Eastern Thrace, mostly from theKırklareli Province.^[2]

Definition

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 provincesofEdirne,TekirdağandKırklareli,as well as those territories on theEuropean continentof the provinces ofÇanakkaleandIstanbul.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.

Geography

East Thrace has an area of 23,757 km²,3.1% of Turkey's internal area; the population density is around 515/km²,compared to about 98/km²for 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 theGallipolipeninsula. East Thrace is bordered on the west byGreeceand on the north byBulgaria,with theAegean Seato the southwest and theBlack Seato the northeast.^[3]^[4]

RiverMaritsa(Turkish:Meriç), which forms the land border betweenGreeceandTurkey,also forms the natural border betweenWestern Thraceand East Thrace.

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	23,757	12,231,038	515
% of national	3.1%	14.3%	452%

Source:Citypopulation.demirroring data from: State Institute of Statistics, Republic of Turkey (web).

Climate

The area has a hybridmediterranean climate/humid subtropical climateon the Aegean Sea coast and the Marmara Sea coast, and anoceanic climateon 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.

History

East Thrace was the setting for several important events in history and legend, including:

In 1000 BCE, Thracian tribes found the settlements of Lygos and Semistra; Plinius mentions the founding of Semistra in his histories and traces of Lygos remain near Seraglio Point.
The Greek myth ofHero and Leandertakes place in the ancient city ofSestus.
Aeneasfounded the city ofAenuswhile trying to find new lands during his mythological travels.
After the death ofAlexander the Great,in the period called theDiadochi,Alexander's generalLysimachus(360-281 BC) became king of Thrace and established his capital inLysimachia.
TheBattle of Adrianoplein 378 was an important turning point in the decline of the Roman Empire.
Çimpe Castlewas the first European territory held by theOttoman Empire,dating back to 1352.
Edirnewas the second capital of the Ottoman Empire afterBursa.
TheGallipoli Campaign,one of the most important campaigns of theFirst World War,was fought on theGallipoli peninsula.

During theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878)and theBalkan Wars(1912–1913), MuslimMuhacirof 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 localsanjakswas as follows:

Sanjak	Turks	Greeks	Bulgarians	Others	Total
Ottoman Official Statistics, 1910^[6]
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 Muslimmilletwas 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 Thraceand parts of theRhodopesandSakar.A publication from December 21, 1912, in the Belgian magazineOns Volk Ontwaakt(‘Our Nation Awakes’) estimated 1,006,500 inhabitants in the vilayet:^[7]

OrthodoxBulgarians– 370,000
OrthodoxGreeks– 220,000
OrthodoxArmenians– 30,000
OrthodoxAlbanians– 3,500
Orthodox Turks – 3,000

MuslimTurks– 250,000
Pomaks– 115,000
MuslimRomani– 15,000

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.

Demographics

The majority of the Muslim 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 Turkeylive there.^[8]

Attractions and festivals

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 wrestlingtournamentKırkpınaris held annually near Edirne; usually in late June. TheRomanifestivalKakavais held annually in Edirne andKırklareli.

Politics

In Eastern Thrace theRepublican People's PartyandKemalismtraditionally 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]