Edirne (Turkey) is the second largest city in Thrace after Istanbul, located in northwestern Turkey and close to the borders with Bulgaria and Greece. Edirne Municipality provides public services to a population of 190,000.

Historically known as Adrianople, or ‘‘City of Hadrian’’, Edirne was named after the Roman Emperor and was the capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1369 until 1453. It is home to a number of historical monuments, baths, palaces, 10 historical bridges, and numerous mosques, including the Selimiye Mosque (listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List).

In March 2022, Edirne showed its commitment to sustainability at the International Sustainable Cities Summit, where they signed and endorsed the "ICLEI Kadikoy Communique 2022: building bridges for a sustainable urban world in the age of emergency”. The communique places a focus on Turkish cities and their growing role in global sustainability action.

In addition, the city is also a member of the Covenant of Mayors. "This year, I signed the Covenant of Mayors - European Mayors Agreement again with the responsibility of protecting the environment, and we created a new action plan for climate change. Now we have joined ICLEI. We will continue to work for Edirne and the world with an environmentalist, scientific and humanist perspective,” announced Edirne Municipality Mayor, Recep Gürkan, as he accepted the "European Diploma" at the Council of Europe Europe Prize Awards, earlier this year.

The city looks forward to working with ICLEI to strengthen its national and international cooperation in the area of sustainability, building its own capacity by doing so. It hopes to develop adaptation processes and activities to reduce emissions, as well as make the city more resilient in the face of climate change.

Learn more on their website: www.edirne.bel.tr

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