About Sapanca

Historical Places of Sapanca


Byzantine sarcophaguses and tombs

Sarcophaguses from Byzantine period are exhibited in front of Sapanca Government Office. Two of them were found in İlmiye Village in 1976 while the other two were found in 1987 during the construction work of TEM Motorway. Furthermore, it is possible to see the relics of the castle which is from Bithynia period and was made as a hiding place for the last king.

Rahime Sultan Mosque ve Rahime Sultan Tughra

The 4th wife of Sultan Abdulmecit Rahime Sultan constructed it in 1892. In 1967, it was restored. The mosque maintains its original structure but its minaret was damaged after the 17 August earthquake.

Vecihi Gate

There is no certain information but it is said that it was constructed by Mimar Sinan. It is claimed that Silk Road passes from this place. Since this arch has been repaired many times, only its main torso is entitled as a historical artifact. The first repairment of this arch was made by Sapanca District Administrator Yanyalı Vecihi Orhon without spoiling its original structure.

Rüstempaşa Mosque

The son-in-law and vizier of Süleyman the Magnificient, Rüstem Paşa made foremen of Mimar Sinan construct it in 1555. Although this mosque in the county center have been restored many times, it is still open for praying.

Cami Cedid Mosque

This mosque is in the bazaar and was constructed in 1899. As may understood from its name, it is located in Cedid Neighborhood, thanks to the recent restorations, it is very beautiful now.

Hasan Fehmi Paşa Mosque

It was constructed by Ottoman Vizier Hasan Fehmi Paşa in 1885. This mosque is in Mahmudiye village, three km from Sapanca and it is ornamented by very beautiful engravings.

Sabancı Baba

Once upon a time, there were fertile lands in the place of Sapanca Lake and there was a rich town there. The town was affluent but they were very mean and selfish. One day, a dervish, Eren Dede, who closed his eyes to material world and filled his soul with love and affection and who resides in Erenler hill in the south of Adapazarı came to that town. He greeted them but they did not reply, he wanted to be guest but none of the invited him, no door was opened to him. They did not give even a glass of water to this poor but rich-hearted dervish. If you break the heart of a dervish, you cannot fix it; even if you fix it, it is fruitless. At the evening while he leaves the village hungry, tired and thirsty, he saw the candle light of a small cottage, he decided to knock the door of this cottage. This place was the workplace of a poor plower who made plows for the villagers. He knocked the door, after a while, the plower opened the door: “Welcome, welcome. I have just cooked my food. I was praying to God to send a guest.”

The dervish became happy and sat in the seat of honor. Plower set the table and put everything he had in front of the dervish. After the dinner, he opens his bed full of sawdust and let his guest sleep. Then, they woke up early. The dervish says that he will leave and the plower sees him off till the hills. When he returns, he saw something surprising. In the place of the town, there is a huge lake! All the houses and farms were lost. The huge lake swallowed all of them. There is no one alive other than him. The dervish’s curse took effect and the town was destroyed. After this day, they called the lake “Sapanca” a reminder of the Turkish Word “sabancı” for lower.