East Thrace

East Thrace

East Thrace or Eastern Thrace (Turkish: Doğu Trakya or simply Trakya; Bulgarian: Източна Тракия, Iztochna Trakiya; Greek: Ανατολική Θράκη, Anatoliki Thraki), also known as Turkish Thrace, is the part of the modern republic of Turkey that is geographically part of Europe, all in the eastern part of the historical region of Thrace; most of Turkey is in Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor. Turkish Thrace is also called European Turkey. This area includes the historic centre of old İstanbul (medieval Constantinople), as well as such cities as Edirne (the historical capital of the Ottoman vilayet that comprised all Thrace), Tekirdağ, Çorlu, Lüleburgaz and Kırklareli.

Geography

East Thrace, which is also known as European Turkey, holds about 12 percent of the population and has an area of 23,764 km² (3 percent of the country). Asiatic Turkey, called Anatolia or Asia Minor, has an area of 755,688 km² (97 percent of the country). The two are separated by the Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara and Straits of the Bosphorus, a route of about 361 km. The European portion is bordered on the west by Greece for 212 km and on the north by Bulgaria for 269 km.

River Maritsa (Turkish Meriç), Border of West and East Thrace

History

East Thrace was the setting for several important historical events.

• The Greek myth of Hero and Leander takes place in the ancient city of Sestus.
• Aeneas founded the city of Aenus while trying to find new lands during his mythological conquests.
• After the death of Alexander the Great, in the period called the Diadοchi, Alexander's general Lysimachus (360-281 BC) became king of Thrace and established his capital in Lysimachia.
• Çimpe Castle was the first European territory held by the Ottoman Empire.
• Edirne was the second capital of the Ottoman Empire after Bursa.
• The Gallipoli Campaign, one of the most important of the First World War, was fought near the city of Gelibolu.

• 

  Hero and Leander

• 

  Coin of Lysimachus

• 

  Selimiye Mosque, Edirne

• 

  Beach Hellas, in the Gallipoli Campaign

Prior to the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the distribution of nationalities in the local Sanjacks was as follows:

Ottoman Official Statistics, 1910
Sanjack	Turks	Greeks	Bulgarians	Others	Total
Edirne	128,000	113,500	31,500	14,700	287,700
Kirk Kilisse	53,000	77,000	28,500	1,150	159,650
Tekirdağ	63,500	56,000	3,000	21,800	144,300
Gallipoli	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

Provinces

The region comprises the three il (republican provinces) of Edirne, Kırklareli and Tekirdağ, along with the European parts of İstanbul (Çatalca Peninsula or Avrupa Yakası for people of İstanbul) and Çanakkale. On the other hand, Istanbul, the Gelibolu (Gallipoli) Peninsula and Gökçeada (both part of Çanakkale Province) may not always be considered part of Thrace by Turks today^{[citation needed]}.

Province	Area (km²)	Population (2008 estimate)	Population density (per km²)
Provinces formerly in the Vilayet of Edirne:
Edirne	6,279	394,644	62.8
Kırklareli	6,550	336,942	51.4
Tekirdağ	6,218	770,772	123.9
Sub-total	19,047	1,502,358	78.8
İstanbul (European part)	3,421	8,232,849	2406.5
Çanakkale (European part)	1,296	64,268	49.5
Total	23,764	9,799,745	412

See also

• Geography of Turkey
• Thrace
• Northern Thrace
• Western Thrace
• Edirne Vilayet