Kirklareli

Kirklareli, city, northwestern (European) Turkey. It lies in the foothills of the Yildiz (Istranca) Mountains. Formerly called Kırk Kılıse (“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 trade centre (chiefly in dairy products, cereals, and tobacco), it is linked by a branch line with the Edirne-Istanbul railway.

Kırklareli has a borderline mediterranean/humid subtropical climate due to the rain shadow effect caused by the mountain range to the immediate northeast, while the region is humid subtropical. Summers are long, hot and humid whilst winters are cool and damp. Snowfall is quite common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two.