From Büyükçekmece to Silivri along the Western Shore of the Marmara

Begin the day at the southern end of the lake, the part closest to the sea; this is the point, reached on foot from the centre of Büyükçekmece, where the lake touches the Marmara. First look at the water and notice its shape: according to Wikipedia, this is a lagoon lake. When the lower valley of the Karasu, which runs south from the Çatalca area, was drowned by the rising sea, a bay formed, and the mouth of the bay was later closed by a spit of gravel, sand and clay. The water stretching before you was therefore once the sea itself. The historic bridge crosses the gap that links the lake to the sea; since the bridge is a stop on the earlier route, be content for now to see it from a distance. Look into the origin of the name as well: Wikipedia writes that the lake takes its name from the large hand-pulled rafts called çekmece that were used to cross before the bridge existed. The district governor's history of the district also says that before the bridge the crossing between the two banks was made by raft. Now turn your eyes to the sea end of the lake. Here the earth-fill dam that DSİ built between 1983 and 1988 separates the lake from the sea. According to İSKİ's page on water sources, the dam entered service in 1989 and supplies Istanbul with about one hundred million cubic metres of water a year. The same page states that the catchment covers 620 square kilometres and that the water goes to the city after treatment at the Büyükçekmece Drinking Water Treatment Plant. In other words, the water you are looking at this morning is part of the water that reaches the taps of many homes on the European side. Look also at the narrow strip between the dam and the sea; Wikipedia writes that there is a slightly brackish lake, small water pockets and reed beds here. Early in the morning the reed beds are at their liveliest, so bring binoculars if you have them. According to English Wikipedia, BirdLife International declared the lake area an Important Bird Area in 1989. The same source writes that the lake covers about 28 square kilometres and reaches seven kilometres in length and two kilometres in width. The ministry's wetland record notes that the lake once held 30 fish species and that 15 remain today, four of them non-native. The same record states plainly that the lake's surroundings are under heavy pressure from industry and settlement. It also says that because the lake was deepened, reed beds now form only in the birds' breeding season. Around the lake a nature park is being built as part of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's work to protect drinking water catchments; according to Wikipedia, the first two phases opened to the public on 14 March 2024. The project includes walking and cycling paths and birdwatching points; check the current state of these sections with the operating body. Because the lake is a source of drinking water, do not go into the water and do not leave food or litter on the shore. For photographs the soft morning light is best, and with the sun behind you the reeds and water come out more clearly. At the end of the forty-five minutes, walk south-east along the shore to the Kervansaray a few hundred metres away.

Source: İSKİ, Su Kaynakları; Wikipedia, Büyükçekmece Gölü; T.C. Çevre ve Orman Bakanlığı, Büyükçekmece Gölü sulak alan kaydı.

Approach the Kervansaray from its north front, because the building's only entrance is on this side and has a round arch. First look at the long body from outside: Semavi Eyice's article in the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam describes the building as a rectangular post inn measuring 41 metres by 18.5 metres. The district governor's page gives its length as 48 metres; since the sources differ on the measurement, do not dwell on the number but feel how long the building is by walking along it. Look closely at the walls: courses of brick have been laid between the rows of cut stone. Look at the roof; the building is covered by a hipped roof that slopes to both sides. The name Kurşunlu Han, the Lead-Roofed Inn, comes from the fact that the roof was once covered with lead sheets; according to the TDV article it is covered with Turkish tiles today. The source answers the question of who built it cautiously. The district governor's page writes that Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent had Mimar Sinan build it in 1566. The TDV article, however, states that the exact date is unknown, but that the building's name appears in Sinan's lists of works and that it was most probably built by Sinan in the reign of Süleyman. According to the same article, construction of the bridge began in Süleyman's last years and a three-spouted fountain was built at the bridgehead; the inn is thought to belong to the same years as these works. Now walk round to the south front, because the building takes in light only from this side. Count the eight loopholes in the lowest row, then look at the eight windows above them; the windows alternate between round and pointed arches. In the gable wall that rises in a triangle you see a pointed-arched window in the middle and round windows on either side. The side fronts are blind, that is, they have no windows at all. From the remains it is clear that there was a room on each side of the door on the entrance front; according to the TDV article, the one on the left is almost completely ruined while the one on the right is in good condition. You can read in the article that these rooms may have been the innkeeper's lodging or the so-called pasha rooms set aside for senior officers of the army. If the door is open, go inside and look at the row of supports in the middle; the ten supports, originally timber, were turned into square concrete piers in the last repair. Each of the two side walls holds eleven hearths with twelve cupboard niches between them. The raised platforms running along the walls were where travellers spread their bedding. Because the building stood on the main road linking Istanbul to the West, most travellers who reached the capital by land saw it. Evliya Çelebi was among those who stayed here, in March 1659, on the road to Bosnia. According to Wikipedia, the inn was used as a military depot in the years of the Second World War, then became a hay barn, and the General Directorate of Foundations repaired it in 1965-1966. Today it hosts cultural and artistic events; whether you can go inside may depend on that day's programme, and if the door is closed, walking round the fronts is enough. At the end of the half hour head west; cross the historic bridge to the Mimarsinan neighbourhood on the other side of the lake and walk to the museum on Çarşı Sokağı.

Source: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, Büyükçekmece Kervansarayı; Büyükçekmece Kaymakamlığı, Kervansaray; Wikipedia, Büyükçekmece Kervansarayı.

The museum is on Çarşı Sokağı in the Mimarsinan neighbourhood; after crossing the bridge, when you enter the neighbourhood's narrow market street, you recognise it by its stone front. Look at the building before you go in, because the building itself is also a document. According to the museum's official website, it is an old stone structure that witnessed the period of the population exchange. The same page explains that before the 1923 population exchange Büyükçekmece was a place where Greek and Turkish populations lived together, and that Turks were settled in place of those who left. According to Wikipedia, the municipality restored this building and the museum opened in July 2011. The official website writes that the building covers 210 square metres and consists of two independent sections. According to English Wikipedia, the ground floor is devoted to world costumes and the upper floor to Turkish costumes; start your visit on the ground floor. Knowing where the collection comes from changes the way you look at it. The garments are costumes and accessories given to the municipality by foreign folk dance troupes taking part in the International Culture and Art Festival held in Büyükçekmece every summer. English Wikipedia writes that the festival has been held since 2000 and has been a member since 2003 of the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts, known as CIOFF. According to a news source, the festival has won this council's best festival award four times. Walk round reading the country names in the display cases; according to English Wikipedia, the collection holds garments from 44 countries. The same source lists Spain, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, Poland, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Argentina, Georgia and Indonesia among them. Look closely at the colours and motifs of the fabrics; the official website also stresses that the display rests on this vividness. Do not miss the picture collection of traditional costume photographs that accompanies the garments, where you see how each garment was worn. According to Wikipedia, the oldest piece on display is a wedding dress more than a hundred years old. The same source writes that the number of exhibits exceeds two thousand and that the pieces are changed from time to time, so on your next visit you may see other garments. When you go upstairs you move on to the traditional folk dress of Anatolia. Comparing the cuts that change from region to region here is the best way to connect with the world costumes below. The official website writes that the museum carries out work on dowry customs, folk dances and old traditions, and that it holds workshops for children and talks for adults every month. If you are coming with a child, ask about the workshop programme in advance. If your visit falls on the festival days at the end of July, the festival takes place at Kültürpark in the district centre, and there you see the same kind of garments in the middle of the dance. According to the official website the museum is closed on Mondays; check the opening hours on the official website before you go. This check is especially important because different closing days appear in the sources. When you leave the museum, walk to the İETT line 300 stops in Büyükçekmece and travel along the coast to Silivri.

Source: Dünya Kostümleri Müzesi resmi sitesi; Wikipedia, Dünya Kostümleri Müzesi; Milliyet, Büyükçekmece Kostüm Müzesi.

İETT line 300 brings you to the centre of Silivri; Kalepark lies in the old castle area on the town's eastern bluff overlooking the sea. According to the municipality's history of the district, Silivri was founded on a steep, rugged hill east of the bay, commanding the Marmara, and this hill was in time surrounded by walls. The same text explains that the town stood on a cliff rising in places to 56 metres, protected by walls on three sides and on the fourth by a bluff impossible to climb from the sea. Wikipedia, on the other hand, writes that the park stands on a cliff 47 metres high; the two measurements may have been taken at different points. Before entering the park, look at the wall beside the gate, because this is where you read the castle best. According to Wikipedia, the history of the castle goes back to the third century AD, but most of the surviving remains date from the ninth and twelfth centuries. According to the municipality's account, the Byzantine emperor Arcadius had the castle built to honour his wife Eudoxia and changed the name of the town to Eudoxiopolis. English Wikipedia also confirms that ancient Selymbria bore this name for a time. Turkish Wikipedia, meanwhile, writes that in the ninth century Emperor Michael III built a castle on the hill whose ruins still stand; since the sources describe different periods, it is fair to think the walls were renewed several times. According to the municipality, the walls of Silivri were also repaired in 1509 in the reign of Bayezid II. Silivri Municipality opened the park on 30 August 2020 after renovation works. Head for the open-air museum inside the park; around 150 stone pieces from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods found in and around Silivri are displayed here. According to a news source, the pieces were placed in coordination with the Istanbul Archaeological Museums Directorate, and sarcophagi are among them. Look at the lid shapes and edge decoration of the sarcophagi, then read the label beside each piece. Comparing the column fragments and capitals side by side gives a sense of how the town was rebuilt across different centuries. Visitors quoted in the same report say that the pieces once lay scattered around the park and that the present arrangement turned them into a labelled exhibition. Then go out to the walking path at the edge of the bluff. According to the news source, the park has viewing binoculars, an amphitheatre, walking paths and a picnic area. From here look at the Marmara and at the bay to the west; the municipality's text explains that this inlet was once suitable for a harbour and was later filled with debris brought by the south-westerly winds. The same text also says that the harbour lost its role with the development of the railway and the highways. The ancient town was called Selymbria and, according to English Wikipedia, it was founded as a colony of Megara earlier than Byzantion. The published Silivri excursion describes the same hill through the castle bluff and the fabric of the town; here, give your time to the museum and the view. When the afternoon light softens over the sea, it is the best time for photographs. At the end of an hour and a quarter, head north by car to the village of Danamandıra.

Source: Silivri Belediyesi, Silivri tarihi; Wikipedia, Silivri Kalepark; Hürriyet, Silivri'deki açık hava müzesi.

Danamandıra Nature Park lies in the countryside north of Silivri, just south-west of the village of Danamandıra; the moment you leave the coast and enter the forest through the fields, you feel that the second half of the day has begun. It is hard to reach by public transport, so plan a car for this last stop. According to Wikipedia, a fee is charged for vehicles at the park entrance; check the current information with the operating body. Knowing the park's status adds meaning to your visit. According to Wikipedia, this wooded area with lakes in it was registered in 2006 as a protected site for the conservation of nature. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's list of nature parks shows that the area was declared a nature park on 16 December 2015; the list places the park under its 1st Regional Directorate. According to Wikipedia, the recreation area with three lakes whose shores are covered with reeds became a nature park on that date. The park has an interesting management arrangement: in 2016 the municipality of the neighbouring district of Esenyurt leased the area for 49 years to provide a recreation area for the people of a crowded district. The same source mentions that the opening took place in the middle of May that year. The operating body's page writes that the park has walking and cycling paths with views of the lake, as well as picnic areas. After the entrance, walk towards the first lake and follow the reed-fringed shore. Walk slowly at the water's edge; the reeds are where birds hide, and if you stay quiet you will see more movement. Spend most of the two hours on the walking paths, resting in the shaded parts of the forest as you pass from one lake to the next. Notice the difference between the lagoon lake you looked at in Büyükçekmece in the morning and the small lakes in this forest: one is a wide lagoon turned into a drinking water reservoir, the others are quiet ponds in the middle of the woods. This comparison shows how different the landscapes of the coast and of inland Thrace are within a single day. The operating body's page stresses that the park preserves its natural fabric and was laid out with an awareness of protecting wildlife. So do not leave the walking paths and do not pick the plants. The same page clearly states that camping is forbidden in the park; come for the day and leave before dark. If you are having a picnic, use only the designated areas and follow the rules on fires. Take your litter back with you, because the lake shores are easily polluted. Check the visiting hours on the operating body's website before you go, as they may change with the season. In spring and autumn the colours of the forest are at their liveliest, while summer afternoons can grow crowded with people looking for shade. You close the day here, at the quietest point of a strip that runs from the coast to the countryside. On the way back you can drive down to Silivri again and from there connect to the metrobus by İETT lines.

Source: Esenyurt Belediyesi, Danamandıra Tabiat Parkı; Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı, Tabiat Parkları; Wikipedia, Danamandıra Tabiat Parkı.