Eskişehir's sights include a good Archeology Museum,a fine Ottoman mosque complex called the Kurşunlu Külliyesi, the dressed-up river called the Porsuk Çayı, an interesting market district (Çarşı), and a neighborhood of old Ottoman houses called Odunpazarı.
Odunpazarı
On a low hill at the southern end of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Caddesi, 2 km (1-1/4 miles) from the Eskişehir Garı (train station), Odunpazarı (map) is Old Eskişehir, a district of Ottoman-era houses now under restoration or reconstruction. It's becoming the city's arts, crafts, boutique and bistrot section. The Abacı Boutique Hotel was early in the trend. More...
Up the hill in a prominent position is the Kurşunlu Külliyesi, an Ottoman mosque (1515) and ancillary buildings including a caravansaray, soup kitchen, and more. A small, pleasant, shady park unites these buildings, with the splashing water of the şadırvan(ablutions fountain) adding a cooling sound.
Porsuk Çayı
The banks of the Porsuk Çayı river running through the city center have been beautifully resstored and decorated with walkways, small parks, and elaborate bridges. In summer there are boat cruises on the river, and you can even ride in a Venetian-style gondola.
Archeology Museum
The new and modern museum holds the found treasures of this archeologically rich region: Phrygian, Hellenic,Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman.
Meerschaum
Meerschaum, the soft white stone which mineralogists call sepiolite (hydrous magnesium silicate, called lületaşı in Turkish) is mined in nearby villages and carved into beads, necklaces, earrings and especially tobacco pipes. Eskişehir's Lületaşı (Meerschaum) Museum and garden, on the banks of the river, give you infomation on the stone, the pocess of mining it, and the art of carving it. More...
Çarşı (Market District)
TIt's fun to wander the narrow, winding streets of the city-center shopping district, north of the river and east of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Caddesi.
Excursions from Eskişehir
South of the city 42 km (26 miles) at Seyitgazi is the tomb complex of Seyit Battal Gazi, an Umayyad military commander who led his Arab army against the Byzantines in 717-740 AD. It's a place of pilgrimage for Muslims.
The country south of Seyitgazi was ancient Phrygia, ruled by King Midas around 725 BC. The most impressive remaining monument is at Midas Şehri(Yazılıkaya). More...
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