Osmaneli & Sakarya Valley

Can a town give its name to a city’s gate? In the walls of İznik, the gate facing east is called the Lefke Gate; because the road leading out of it went to the valley carved by the Sakarya, to Lefke as it was once known, today’s Osmaneli… A traveler leaving through that gate would cross first the plain, then the hills, and at last hear the sound of the river. A town lending its name to a city’s gate; could there be a greater compliment?