Eskisehir Travel Notes

While walking by following the Porsuk Stream that runs through the middle of the city, the houses that seem to be historical at first glance caught my attention. This is Odunpazarı, one of the most beautiful districts of Eskişehir. Here are the Odunpazarı Houses, which preserve the architectural features of the Ottoman period. When I walked into one of the houses, I almost went to the Ottoman era. Even from the smell in the house, it was possible to understand how the home life in the Ottoman Empire was a little bit.

The city, animated by the water, was established around the Porsuk Stream. That's why I went to the Porsuk Stream first. Porsuk Stream is a river that can be visited by gondola. There is a beautiful park around it, which is bright and one can sit and walk. It really adds a different atmosphere to the city. Just like Venice…

After walking for a while among the Ottoman houses in Odunpazarı, I realized that it was time for lunch. Since the weather was very hot, I wanted to go to the nearest mosque to cool off. This mosque, whose name is Kurşunlu was a complex built by Shepherd Mustafa Pasha, one of the Ottoman viziers, in the 1500s. Great constructions such as mosque, madrasah, primary school and caravanserai were located in it. I sat in the fountain, drank a sip of water and cooled off.

What did the old people say? “Everywhere you go, you need to take a sip of water”

Also, on the way to the mosque, I saw prayer beads and ornaments made of Meerschaum in a shop on the way. Meerschaum is a very famous mineral type in Eskişehir. Being easy to work, this stone has been widely used in the production of ornaments in Eskişehir.

I realized that I was hungry after all this travel. While looking for something to eat after leaving Kurşunlu Mosque, the writings on the signs caught my attention. Signs of several restaurants read "raw pastry". Wondering what it was like, I went into one of the restaurants and ordered a raw pie. Although it's called raw börek, it's not raw at all, it's even fried nicely in oil. This is one of the most delicious pastries I've ever eaten, this non-raw raw pastry :)

After I had a good lunch, I drank two glasses of strong tea and watched the surroundings. It was very nice to watch the city while drinking my tea in the garden of the restaurant. After the midday heat had passed and the weather had cooled down a bit, I set out to visit the art and science park, which is located a little outside the city center and is frequented by many tourists.

After a short journey, I reached the park. This park called Sazova, was a science, culture and art park built on a very large area. A huge open-air park with a science center, space house, fairy tale mansion, underwater world, pirate ship, real airplanes and even a zoo.

I spent the rest of the day in this park. It was such a big park that it might take a few days to fully explore it. I can say that I did an accelerated tour. After my tour of the park, before dinner, I returned to the hotel and took a nice shower. I had my dinner at one of the stylish restaurants by the Porsuk Stream and returned to my hotel after a short evening walk in the city centre.

My trip to Eskişehir was really nice. If I had more time, I could visit more places. I will do so next time.

Stay with love…