Kırklareli Province

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Turkey-Kirklareli map
Image:Kirklareli map.gif
Location of Kirklareli

Statistics
Region:	Marmara Region
Province:	Kirklareli
Area:	6550 (km²)
Total Population	328,461 http://www.kirklareli.gov.tr (2000)
Urban Population	190,472 http://www.kirklareli.gov.tr (2000)
Rural Population	137,989 http://www.kirklareli.gov.tr (2000)
Population density:	50 (pop/km²)
Licence plate code:	39
Area code:	318
Governor:	Hüseyin Avni Coş
Governor Website:	http://www.kirklareli.gov.tr

This article is about Kirklareli province. For the capital city see Kirklareli.

Kırklareli is a province of northwestern Turkey on the west coast of the Black Sea. The province neighbours Bulgaria to the north along a 180 kilometers long border. Kırklareli is the capital city of the province. The province's and its central city's name means "the land of the forty" in Turkish and it may refer either to the forty Ottoman ghazis sent by the sultan Murad I to conquer the city for the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century or to the forty churches reported to be situated in the region before the Ottoman conquest. There is a memorial on a hilltop in Kırklareli city, called "Kırklar Anıtı" (the Memorial of the Forties in Turkish) to the honor of the Ottoman conquerors (For more on the name's origins, see Kırklareli).

The province is bisected by the Yıldız (Istranca) mountain range. The north and northeastern parts of the province are one of the least populated parts of Turkey. The districts to the south and west are more populated because the land is better suited for agriculture and industrial development. The north and eastern parts of the province are dominated by forests. Therefore forestry is a way living in these areas. Fishing is done along the Black Sea coast.

[edit] Local attractions

Dupnisa Cave is a famous natural attraction and a unique geological formation within the borders of the province. The 60 km long coast along the Black Sea is again one of the most pristine beaches in Turkey. There are two Nature Reserve Areas along the coast namely Saka Gölü(Saka Lake) Nature Reserve Area to the north and Kasatura Körfezi(Kasatura Bay) Nature Reserve Area to the south. The sites are unique with their undisturbed ecosystems harboring several endangered and endemic plant and animal species.