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Photo: Mereyü, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A small town 40 km west of central Istanbul and 15 km north of Büyükçekmece that had a substantial Greek population until the 1920s transfers. Spared from destruction in the Balkan wars which foreshadowed the Great War, the old quarter has many historic wooden buildings and fountains in leafy squares. A short stretch of the old town walls still stand just north of the centre. In the outer areas, bunkers of the WW2 'Çakmak Line' and remnants of the Byzantine Anastasios Walls could be observed.
Çatalca is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 1142 km2, making it the largest district in Istanbul Province by area. Its population is 77,468 (2022). It is in East Thrace, on the ridge between the Marmara and the Black Sea. Most people living in Çatalca are farmers or owners of vacation homes. Many families from Istanbul come to Çatalca for weekend hiking or picnics.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
A remarkable Roman double aqueduct above the village of Gümüşpınar. Here water from two catchments converged then flowed by an upper and lower channel all the way to Constantinople. In 2020 treasure hunters got it into their heads that gold was buried beneath, so they blew it up, incurring substantial damage..
Evcik Plajı
A wide, undeveloped sandy beach backed by cliffs, unexpectedly popular during summer weekends despite its relative remoteness. A narrow track steeply descends to it, but it's best to park your car ahead of the slope to avoid climbing back up in reverse. The ruins of the Byzantine church of St George over the bluff mark the northern end of the Anastasian Wall.
formerly Podima
The most interesting of the resorts along this part of the coast. The beach has multi-coloured stones much used as garden mosaics in the city. (Modern quarries nearby still extract these for the Turkish glass industry.) The town has restaurants and accommodation.
Çilingoz Tabiat Parkı
It has a sandy beach backed by forest where a creek runs out. This is as far as you can go in a standard car.
Korsan Koyu
A small and very isolated beach surrounded by rock cliffs.
A relatively developed beach.