Erikli-Mecidiye
Erikli and Mecidiye are a pair of villages on the northern coast of the Saros Bay in Turkish Thrace.
Understand
Separated from each other by a saltwater lagoon (known locally as Tuz Gölü, "the Salt Lake") and the channel that links it with the sea, this duo has some of the most popular sandy beaches on the Saros Bay, an arm of the northern Aegean Sea. The villages proper are a few kilometres inland on the hills, and are both populated by the descendants of the Turkish immigrants from the Balkans, settled in the area in the 19th century (Mecidiye was indeed named in honour of the Ottoman sultan Abdülmecid, r. 1839–1861, during the rule of whom the village was founded).
Erikli, west of the lagoon and the more popular of the couple, has developed into a fairly crowded and large resort town, sometimes — especially during the week-long national holidays — cramped beyond its infrastructure and businesses can handle. Mecidiye, geographically eastern of the two, is far less developed and accordingly has a much calmer beach.
Two nearby locations of special note are the beachfront Danişment Forest Camp, west from Erikli, and the harbour of İbrice Limanı, east of Mecidiye, from where the boats bound for the diving sites of the Saros depart.
Get in
Direct buses from Istanbul through Tekirdağ and Keşan are available a couple of times daily, at least in summer. At other times, you may need to change in Keşan. Most buses to the area terminate in Yayla, a nearby resort west of Erikli, past the village of Danişment.
There are also minibuses from Keşan, the regional hub. They depart from the local bus station (known as Eski Garaj, "the old depot") in the town centre, though, not the main bus station on the highway skirting the town, which is served by intercity buses. The two bus stations of Keşan are connected by minibuses.
A well surfaced road (22-53) branches off from the main D-550 south of Keşan. It arrives at the Mecidiye village, 30 km or so south of Keşan, continues onto the Mecidiye beach (Mecidiye Sahil) and crosses the bridge over the lagoon's channel towards the resort part of Erikli (Erikli Sahil), before finally swinging north towards the village proper of Erikli. A road towards Danişment continues southwest from Erikli. A shortcut through the village of Beyköy also exists between the Erikli village and the main road of the area (22-53), but it can be confusing to use, especially for the first timers.
A road towards İbrice Limanı branches off in a junction in the village of Mecidiye — follow the signpost.