Eskişehir, a city of culture with two universities, theaters, museums, parks, entertainment and shopping centers, is an ideal destination for weekend vacations. Take two days off during these most beautiful days of spring, and discover Eskişehir, reborn from the ashes, with us. I went to Eskisehir for the first time for an interview in 1996. It was December. While entering the city in a cold and rainy misty morning, the darkness seemed more intense. We squelched through the mud covering the main streets, even the main thoroughfares, and the ubiquitous smoky smell burnt our noses. When we arrived at the interview location, all I could think about was finishing the work and returning as soon as possible to Istanbul. I thought I would never go back to Eskisehir, which on that day was imprinted on my mind as a dark, muddy and misty city, but in the years that followed, I received news about Eskisehir that sparked my curiosity… The air of the city was cleaned thanks to natural gas, and the Porsuk Brook which was among the dirtiest and unhealthiest rivers of Europe started to get clean. In Eskisehir, which gradually turned into a university city, cultural and artistic activities were growing in number and the tourism was improving. The city was, quite simply, reborn from the ashes. The opportunity to see this spectacular change, which I have watched from afar for many years, on site came after almost 20 years through Strategy Magazine. When I arrived at Eskisehir taking the advantage of the spring-like days at the end of the snowy February, the first thing I did was to see the Porsuk Brook with the gondolas inside, and the cafés and tea gardens on the riverbank. THE OLDEST CITY: ODUNPAZARI Odunpazarı, the oldest region of Eskisehir, is at the top of the must-see places. While every museum, souvenir shop and bookshop that you encounter on the cobblestone streets of this region, where the historical restored buildings are put under protection with new functions, is worth seeing, you should definitely visit the Meerschaum Museum and the Museum of Glass Arts. The Museum of Modern Glass Arts, founded by Eskisehir Metropolitan Municipality, was created by joining three renovated Odunpazarı houses. Among the works of art in the collection of the museum, 75 of them belong to the Turkish artists and 12 of them belong to the foreign artists. The Meerschaum Museum containing approximately 400 works of art of 60 artists was opened in 2008. In the museum located in Kursunlu Complex, in addition to the meerschaums (pipes), ornaments, souvenirs and stuffs made of meerschaum and also the figurines competing in national and international contests are exhibited. If you are fond of architecture, one of the locations that you must see in Odunpazarı is Yesil Efendi House. The house, also known as the “Ottoman House”, welcomed Mustafa Kemal during the War of Independence. The Ottoman House, one of the most beautiful examples of civil architecture, stands out with its rich embellishments and woodworks. Another architecturally-significant location is the Turan Numune School, which is used as the Museum of the History of Republic today. The Turan Numune School, built by Kemalettin the Architect in 1916, was renovated by the Anadolu University in 1994. HAILS TO KARAKURT AND DEVRIM Leave Odunpazarı and move forward to Tepebasi from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Boulevard. On the left, you will see the Atatürk Stadium, the sanctuary of the Red Devils. When you move along the boulevard and walk across the opposite shore, the Eskisehir Terminal will greet you. If you are a fan of the history of industry like me, here, you have the chance to see two significant works which are very important for Turkey. I seem to hear that you guessed the first one. Yes, you can see Devrim, the first automobile of Turkey, on the garden of Tülomsas next to the Eskisehir Terminal. There is no need to tell about Devrim again, but we need to mention briefly of a Turkish miracle. Karakurt, from design to production, is completely the endeavors and creation of Turkish workers and engineers, and is the first steam locomotive of Turkey and in my opinion, it is as important as Devrim in terms of the development of Turkish industry. Karakurt, which was put into service in 1961, has been waiting for its visitors with Devrim, the creation of the same era, as a monument of the efforts to develop a local technology since its retirement day in 1976. WHEAT SILO TURNED INTO A HOTEL Towards the end of the day, if you want to sit down for a bit and let what you have seen sink in, you can take a break in the Haller Youth Center which is at a 10-minute distance to the right from the Eskisehir Terminal. The wholesale market for fresh fruits and vegetables, which was founded in the 1930s, was renovated by the Municipality in 2000 and turned into a youth center with its cafés, restaurants and theater hall. There is a theater hall on the top floor of the two-storey center, and there are cafés and a wine house on the ground floor. We need to mention about one of these places specifically. Mazlumlar Muhallebicisi (Mazlumlar Pudding Shop), the meeting place of theater-lovers dating back to 1927, is famous especially for its rose water starch pudding and milk puddings. With its central location and interesting architecture, Ibis Hotel across the Haller Youth Center is one of the best places that you can choose to spend the night in Eskisehir. The story of the hotel, which was transformed out of the wheat silos of the Turkish Grain Board (TMO) in the city, is very interesting. The wheat silos, which were built by the French people in 1934, lost their functions in time and turned into abandoned buildings. Eskisehir Metropolitan Municipality purchased the silos from the Turkish Grain Board and rent them to Akfen REIT in order to turn them into a hotel. It took two years to turn the building consisting of 12 concrete silos into a hotel. A special method was used during the transformation of the monolithic silos. Although the hotel, which was put into service in 2007, is run as 3-star, the service provided here is in 5-star level.