Kirklareli

City, northwestern (European) Turkey. It lies in the foothills of the Yildiz (Istranca) Mountains. Formerly called Kirk Kilise (“Forty Churches”), it developed chiefly because of its position on the shortest route over the mountains from the north to Istanbul, 100 miles (160 km) southeast. The city has numerous Ottoman monuments, including the 15th-century Mosque of Hizir Bey. An important