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.
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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. [1]
East Thrace was the setting for several important historical events.
Prior to the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the distribution of nationalities in the local Sanjacks was as follows:
Ottoman Official Statistics, 1910[2] | |||||||
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 | ||
Istambul | 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 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 .
Province | Area (km²) |
Population (2008 estimate)[3] |
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 |