Route One — The Three Capitals
Bursa → Edirne → Istanbul. About 550 kilometres. Five days. The slow assembly of an empire from the towns it conquered.
The simplest and most coherent of the three routes. Begin in Bursa, the first capital. Take the ferry from Bursa's port at Mudanya across the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul (one and a half hours); then by bus or car west to Edirne (three hours from Istanbul along the E80 motorway); finish back in Istanbul. The route can be done in three intense days or five comfortable ones.
Day 1 — Bursa. The Yeşil Cami, the mausolea of Osman and Orhan, the Koza Han silk market, the Ulu Cami's twenty domes. Sleep in the Old City.
Day 2 — Bursa to Istanbul. Morning at Bursa's covered bazaar. Afternoon ferry across the Marmara. Evening arrival in Istanbul.
Days 3–4 — Istanbul. Topkapı, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Süleymaniye, the Grand Bazaar, Dolmabahçe. Pace yourself.
Day 5 — Edirne and return. Long day trip to Edirne for the Selimiye. The drive is flat and unremarkable; the destination is the masterpiece of Sinan, of Ottoman architecture, and arguably of Islamic civilisation.
Route Two — The Balkan Road
Istanbul → Plovdiv → Sofia → Skopje → Sarajevo → Mostar. About 1,400 kilometres. Eight days. The route of the imperial army to Belgrade and Vienna.
This is the route the Ottoman army took to Belgrade and beyond, on every European campaign from Murad I to Kara Mustafa. It follows the old Stambul Road — the Roman Via Militaris in its earlier life — across the Balkans. Today it crosses four EU and EU-adjacent countries (Turkey, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Bosnia) with three border crossings. Roads are good. English is variably useful. A car with EU number plates is welcomed everywhere.
Days 1–2: Istanbul to Plovdiv (550 km). Cross into Bulgaria at Kapıkule. Plovdiv has an entire Ottoman quarter on its Three Hills.
Days 3–4: Plovdiv to Skopje via Sofia (450 km). Sofia retains a working Ottoman mosque (Banya Bashi) in the centre of the city. Skopje's old bazaar is among the largest surviving Ottoman bazaars in the Balkans.
Days 5–6: Skopje to Sarajevo (350 km). The drive crosses Kosovo (visa-free for most EU/UK/US/Canada/AU). The mountain pass from Pristina to Mitrovica is spectacular.
Days 7–8: Sarajevo and Mostar. Sarajevo's Baščaršija. Mostar's Old Bridge. End at the Adriatic.
Route Three — The Aegean Road
Istanbul → Bursa → İznik → Çanakkale → İzmir → Rhodes. About 1,200 kilometres including ferries. Eight days. The maritime empire's heart.
This route runs along the Aegean coast of Anatolia, taking in the maritime cities that powered the Ottoman navy and the islands the empire fought Venice for. Some sections are by ferry.
Days 1–2 — Istanbul to Bursa. The familiar opening.
Day 3 — Bursa to İznik. A morning at İznik. The pottery and tile museum is small but excellent.
Days 4–5 — Çanakkale and Gallipoli. The battlefield. Allow a full day; do an organised half-day tour and walk the cemeteries yourself in the other half.
Day 6 — İzmir. The modern descendant of Smyrna. The Roman agora, the small remaining Ottoman quarter (Kemeraltı bazaar), and a careful visit to the waterfront where the 1922 fire began.
Days 7–8 — Rhodes. Ferry from Marmaris or fly. Three days minimum for the medieval town, the Knights' palace, and the surviving Ottoman quarters.
End of the routes