Enez

Enez (pronounced ay-nayz, [1]) is a small town (pop. 4,000) in southwestern corner of Eastern Thrace, European part of Turkey. It is located on the northern shores of the Aegean Sea, near where the river Maritsa (Meriç in Turkish, Evros in Greek) empties into the sea. Its ancient name was Ainos.

Travel to Enez - Visa Requirements

Buses to Enez

There are one or two direct bus connections daily with Istanbul in summer. The seats are sold out in a very short time, so buy your ticket in advance. If you don’t have a ticket bought beforehand and simply can’t just secure a seat on your departure day, you can buy a ticket for Keşan instead, which has a lot more connections with Istanbul which don’t generally need to be booked. In Keşan’s otogar (bus station), take a public minibus or courtesy minibuses which your bus company provides, and ask to be dropped at eski garaj (pronounced ays-kee ga-rrazh, zh like j in French), which is the former and much smaller bus station of the town. At eski garaj, you will be able to find a (likely non-air conditioned) minibus heading for Enez, departing within half an hour at most. Keşan-Enez ride takes about an hour while Istanbul-Keşan takes about three and a half hour.

There are also direct buses from Edirne.

by car

Go to Keşan first, which can be reached by taking D110/E90 from Greco-Turkish border/Ipsala (west), D110/E84 from Istanbul/Tekirdağ (east), D550/E87 from Edirne (north), D550/E87/E90 from Gallipoli/Canakkale (south). In Keşan crossroad, take the southerly road (D550/E87/E90, follow ‘Canakkale’ signs) if arriving from west/east/north and after you left the crossroad with traffic lights about 2 km behind, take the road to west (follow ‘Enez’ signs, for which you should watch out as those signs are not very big). From Keşan, Enez is a 60 km drive away and the road is somewhat narrow in some parts.

by train

The nearest station is in Uzunköprü, about 80 km away and which has two daily connections with Istanbul. Once in Uzunköprü, you can either take direct buses or take a minibus to Keşan and transfer there to another one bound for Enez.

Tours and Getting around Enez

The town centre is 4-5 km away from the beach, where there are accommodation facilities and lots of ‘summer houses’. There is a minibus connection once every two hours between the town centre and the beach. You can also hitchhike on that road very easily. Check out the narrow and curvy bridge which has no barriers on the road to beach.

Enez tourist attractions and sightseeing

• Castle, which has a Byzantine chapel on its grounds, is situated right next to the banks of Maritsa river. The opposite bank of the river is actually another country: Greece.

Enez city tours

• Take a stroll on the beach or in the pine woods near the beach.
• Swim.
• Go birdwatching in Maritsa delta and nearby lakes (for example Lake Gala).
• Watch the sun setting behind the Greek island of Samothrace, that huge black mountain rising suddenly out of the sea.

Enez souvenirs and shopping

Enez Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Because of the town’s location on both seashore and the banks of a major river, it is possible year-round to buy and eat both saltwater and freshwater fish cheaply.

Enez nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

You can have a cup of tea or coffee in the garden of ruins of an inn, known as İngiliz Kışlası, which is serving as an outdoor café now (near the beach). The name of the inn (“barracks of the Englishmen” in Turkish) comes from the fact that the building was once used by the British traders who were buying oak trunks to produce charcoal in Britain. Infrequently located oak trees you may see near the beach are the remnants of a lush oak forest which covered the whole area before the trade.

Enez cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

There is only one hotel in the town centre. There are more guesthouses (pansiyon) in the beach neighbourhood.

• Ege Otel, (in the town centre), ☎ +90 284 811 60 86.  

Stay safe

Keep in mind that it’s not ‘cool’ to swim in Maritsa River. As the riverbed is exactly where Greco-Turkish border is, this area is passageway of illegal immigrant smugglers, so anyone swimming in the river may be detained or fined by either Greek or Turkish authorities for ‘illegally entering the country’. Go to the sea instead.

Stay healthy

The mosquito population of Enez is exceptionally large, largely due to its location near the swamps created by Maritsa delta. Their bites are also exceptionally painful, so don’t forget to pack a repellent, screen, and anything else that will keep mosquitoes away from you. No need to worry about malaria though, the worst mosquito bites can cause is (heavy) itching, as malaria is totally eradicated (or already unknown since time immemorial) in this part of the world.

Also beware of sea urchins, which are relatively common in the area, when swimming.

Contact

Enez’s telephone code is 284 (+90 284 when calling from out of Turkey).

Get out

Other towns and villages located along the northern shore of Saros Bay, namely Sultaniçe, Erikli, Mecidiye, Sazlıdere and Adilhan. This region is also popular with scuba divers as Saros Bay is one of the cleanest and liveliest (in terms of marine ecology) bodies of water in Turkey.

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