Tekirdağ

Tekirdağ (Ancient Greek Ῥαίδεστος Rhaidestos or Ῥαίδεστον Rhaideston, Latin Rhaedestus or Raedestum, Bulgarian Родосто Rodosto, Hungarian Rodostó; originally Bisanthe [Ancient Greek Βισάνθη]; later also Rodosçuk, Tekfur Dağı) is a 137.962 inhabitants (2008) port city on the Sea of Marmara in Eastern Thrace and the capital of the Turkish province of Tekirdağ. Following the designation of Tekirdağ as Büyükşehir belediyesi (metropolitan municipality), the central county encompassing the city's area was renamed Süleymanpaşa.

History

The city was already mentioned by Herodotus. Procopius of Caesarea mentions that the city was rebuilt in the 6th century by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I after the barbarian invasions with an additional fortress wall. The Bulgarians conquered and destroyed the city in 813 under Khan Krum and in the battle of Rodosto in 1206 under Tsar Kaloyan, but it was rebuilt shortly afterwards.

When the Turks conquered the city from the Byzantines, they first called it Rodosçuk and from the 18th century Tekfur Dağı. Tekfur comes from the Armenian word tagovar, which means the cross-bearing ones. This was used by the Turks to refer to Christian rulers. Tekfur then became tekir.

In Hungary the town has a great importance, because Prince Ferenc II. Rákóczi lived in exile with his followers in Rodostó until his death after the suppression of the freedom struggle he led against the Habsburgs in the 18th century. The grave of Kelemen Mikes, a Hungarian essayist and chronicler of emigration, is located in an unknown place in the town.

Until the completion of the Dedeağaç-Edirne railway line, Tekirdağ was the main port of the Ottoman Vilâyet Edirne.

During the Balkan War of 1912-1913 the city was occupied by the Bulgarians.

Tekirdağ is known today mainly for its köfte eateries and aniseed brandy production (Rakı). There are still some traditional wooden houses to be seen in the town centre. There is boat traffic to Marmara Island.

Population

Population development

The following table shows the comparative year-end population figures for the province as a whole, the central county or Süleymanpaşa (as of 2013), and the city of Tekirdağ, as well as the respective share in the higher administrative level. The figures are based on the address-based population register (ADNKS) introduced in 2007.