How a Weekend Passes in Kocaeli

For most people Kocaeli is road passed between İstanbul and Ankara. Yet the province holds a Marmara coast, a Black Sea coast, a mountain of sixteen hundred metres and a five hundred year old Ottoman complex. No other province this close to İstanbul offers that range.

Saturday, head south. Begin in İzmit with the clock tower and the shore promenade; raised in 1901, it holds a particular place in the city for having survived the 1999 earthquake. Move on to Gebze for the Çoban Mustafa Paşa complex. Completed in 1523, the group comprises a mosque, madrasa, soup kitchen, caravanserai and tomb and survives whole, with marble brought from Egypt and Syria in its stonework. In the afternoon climb to Maşukiye for trout in the restaurants along the stream, and close the day at the summit of Kartepe. A paved road reaches the top and in clear weather Lake Sapanca and the Marmara appear together.

Sunday, head north. Drop down through Kandıra to Kerpe, where white cliffs on the Black Sea and the small coves between them are a completely different landscape from the Marmara side. The water is cold and rough, but walking along the clifftop is reason enough even without swimming. Buy buffalo yoghurt in the Kandıra market on the way back.

If carpets interest you, add Hereke. The silk carpet produced by the factory founded for the palace in 1843 counts as a category of its own and carries a geographical indication; the town is small and half a day is enough.

When: spring and autumn are the most balanced. In winter Kartepe works as a ski centre and the roads are busy at weekends. The northern coast comes into its own in summer, the mountain side in winter.

Getting around: an hour and a half from İstanbul by car, with Marmaray and high speed rail connections too. Within the province the districts are scattered and public transport infrequent; a car is needed to use two days well.