İnegöl
İnegöl is a city in the Eastern Marmara region of Turkey, with a population in 2020 of 281,384. The cornerstone of İnegöl tourism is Oylat Thermal Springs. It also has many historical buildings.
Understand
[edit]The town used to be known as Ἀγγελόκωμις, Angelokomis, and it's possible that "İnegöl" is a mispronunciation of this. The Ottoman dynasty was founded nearby in Söğüt and in 1285 İnegöl was an early conquest. They went on to capture Bursa then Thrace, then made their move on Constantinople. The town is along a trade route from Anatolia and was embellished in the 15th century by the İshak Paşa mosque. In the 19th century it was a settlement area for those displaced from the Balkans as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. Over the centuries several invading armies also came this way, the last being the Greeks in the war of 1920-22.
İnegöl stands near forested hills: the timber finds multiple uses but here is especially made into furniture. It's the town's chief industry, and İnegöl is Turkey's main producer.
Get in
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From Istanbul, first take the YHT fast train to Eskişehir. This is also the quickest way from Ankara, but direct buses start from there every hour or two, meet the trains at Eskişehir and continue to İnegöl and Bursa. From Eskişehir to İnegöl takes an hour and in 2022 costs 100 TL. The bus operators are Metroturizm and Flixbus.
1 Otogarı the bus station is by the highway crossroads 2 km north of town centre. Taxis and dolmuşes wait outside.
Driving from Istanbul, follow O-7 and O-5 towards Bursa, branching east onto O-22 / D200 into town.
Get around
[edit]You can walk between bus station and town centre, otherwise take a taxi or dolmuş.
See
[edit]- 1 City Museum, Ankara Cd, ☏ +90 224 713 1870. Small but informative display of local history and culture in the former town hall. Free.
- İshak Paşa Mosque, Ankara Cd 13 (opposite museum), ☏ +90 224 715 1366. İshak Paşa was a 15th-century Ottoman Grand Vizier who is buried here and who endowed a külliyesi — a religious complex. Typically these contained a hamam, lodgings, charity kitchen for the poor and medressah for religious study, but only the mosque itself, medressah and tombs remain. The minaret is a modern re-build.
- Traditional Ottoman houses are found here and there in town centre, amid much modern tat.
Do
[edit]- Oylat thermal springs can be reached by turning from the Domaniç turn on the Bursa-Ankara highway, which connects the cities of Bursa, Eskişehir and Ankara. It is 27 km from İnegöl and 60 km from Bursa on average. The hot spring is fed by the snow waters of Uludağ and the surrounding springs. The waters of the spa are included in the group of radioactive hot waters. In addition, there are caves under the hotels area in Oylat and the walls of these caves are decorated with frescoes, and decorated with inscriptions.
- Football: İnegölspor play soccer in TFF 2nd League, Turkey's third tier. Their home ground İnegöl İlçe Stadyumu (capacity 4000) is 1 km west of town centre.
Buy
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- AVM is a big shopping centre next to the bus station. Migros is open daily 10:00-22:00.
- Özdilek Hipermarket is north side of the crossroads next to Hotel Park. It's open daily 09:00-23:00.
- Several small stores in town centre, A101 is the main chain.
Eat
[edit]- İnegöl köfte are distinctive meatballs: they're lightly spiced in the Balkan style, similar to ćevapi or ćevapčići, and were introduced by immigrants from that region in the 1890s. Every restaurant serves them.
- Işıklar OcakBaşı, Şebboy Cd 79. Daily 11:00-23:00. Good place for meals next to the bus station. Lots more in and around the AVM centre.
- Town centre has Şehir Lokantası[dead link], Enver Chef, Cicek Izgara, and Hacı Aziz İnegöl Köftecisi 1934[dead link].
Drink
[edit]- Most cafes serve alcohol, but there aren't stand-alone bars.
Sleep
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- 1 Royal Hotel, Atatürk Blv 54, ☏ +90 444 6613. Good mid-range hotel in city centre. Secure free parking. B&B double 1000 TL.
- 2 Hotel Park, Özdilek Avm Yanı 4, ☏ +90 224 714 9292. Decent mid-range hotel by the edge-of-town crossroads, convenient for motorists. B&B double 1000 TL.
- Hotel City also by the crossroads has spacious rooms but cleaning is erratic.
Connect
[edit]İnegöl and its approach highways have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of Oct 2022, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.
Go next
[edit]- Kurşunlu is a village 10 km southeast on the old road towards Eskişehir, where Yıldırım Mosque is 15th century.
- Eskişehir east is the university city where you come onto the plains of Anatolia.
- Bursa was the first city captured by the Ottomans. It's modern but full of historical sights.
- Uludağ is the mountain rearing up to the west. With your own vehicle you can reach its less-visited eastern slopes, but for the main skiing, hiking and kebab-eating resort area you have to travel via Bursa.
| Routes through İnegöl |
| Keşan ← Bursa ← | W  E |
→ Bozüyük (  N / S) → Eskişehir → Ankara |