Discover Eskişehir: Culture and City Life

Eskişehir brings together a range of cultural attractions: an Ottoman külliye, museums with glass and archaeological collections, and a handicrafts bazaar offer insights into architecture, history and meerschaum. Places such as Kentpark and the Japanese Garden at the zoo are also special points of interest. Which aspects of the city you would like to get to know better can help guide your plans.

Culture, Architecture and Crafts

The Kurşunlu Külliye is a building complex from the Ottoman period of the 16th century. Ottoman vizier Çoban Mustafa Paşa commissioned its construction in 1517. The complex includes a mosque, a şadırvan fountain, a zaviye, a teaching hall, a harem, a soup kitchen, the tomb of Mevlevi sheikhs and two caravanserais. With the exception of the Great Caravanserai, the buildings of the külliye were constructed between 1517 and 1525; the complex was probably completed in 1525. Its individual components illustrate how diverse the uses of such a complex were.

The Museum of Contemporary Glass Art offers a different artistic perspective. It displays 125 works by national and international artists, created using techniques ranging from hot-glass blowing to cold forming. The museum opened on December 1, 2007, and is the first museum of contemporary glass art in Turkey. The variety of techniques offers a concrete indication of the different ways glass can be worked as an artistic material.

The collection at the Eskişehir ETİ Archaeology Museum consists mainly of finds recovered during excavations and surface surveys at archaeological sites in Eskişehir. It also includes objects acquired through purchase, donation and confiscation. Important finds from places such as Dorylaion, Pessinus, the underground city of Han, Yazılıkaya, Keçiçayırı, Çavlum, Demircihöyük and Küllüoba are displayed chronologically. This lets you encounter finds from different locations in chronological order rather than as a collection of unrelated objects.

The Yılmaz Büyükerşen Wax Museum displays 229 wax figures of historical figures and well-known Turkish and international personalities. At the Atlıhan Handicrafts Bazaar, visitors can learn about Eskişehir’s distinctive meerschaum and buy products made from it. The two places offer different points of access: one presents notable personalities, while the other showcases a craft and a material associated with Eskişehir.

Parks, Gardens and City Routes

Kentpark is home to Turkey’s first artificial beach. Eskişehir Zoo also includes a 27,000-square-meter Japanese Garden. The zoo offers educational programs about wildlife, nature, the climate crisis and endangered species. If a particular program is important to your plans, check in advance whether it is currently being offered.

There are numerous cycle paths in the city center. Bicycles can be rented or brought along for rides around the city; rental options may change. The historic hammams in the city center are associated with natural hot springs. The range of activities therefore extends from cycling and gardens to historic baths, without suggesting that these different interests promise the same experience.

Plan Your Stay Around Your Interests

When choosing a hotel, you can first consider what matters to you during your time in Eskişehir: architecture, museum collections and crafts offer different starting points from gardens, educational programs or cycling tours. Then compare specific hotel offers based on what they actually list for your stay. This keeps your selection aligned with your own plans while taking Eskişehir’s varied cultural and urban attractions into account.

Discover more destinations: Arifiye, Mihalgazi, Şükranlı Köyü, Han, İsmetpaşa Köyü, Karagözler, Kümbet, Çalkaya.

Back to the broader travel overview: Eskişehir.