About Silistra
This city is located in Dobruja region in the northeast of Bulgaria. It lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube River and also is a part of the Romanian border. The city, whose establishment coincided with the Roman Empire period, was under the rule of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Silistra, which witnessed many wars and battles in its historical process, demonstrated an epic and unprecedented resistance during the Crimean War and caught the attention of the whole world. After the Second World War, Bulgaria took the complete control of the city. The most important moment in the history of Silistra is the Crimean War occurred between 1853-1856. The city under the control of Ottoman Empire was surrounded by the crowded Russian army, and after 40 days of defense, the war ended with the withdrawal of the Russian army. The resistance of the city also inspired Marx and Engels, the most famous philosophers and ideologues of the time, and they produced works magnifying the achievements of Silistra in the war. Namık Kemal wrote his most famous play, Vatan Yahut Silistre ("Homeland or Silistra"), a drama dedicated to the epic victory of Silistra, in which he focused on the ideas of patriotism and liberalism.
Silistra, immortalizing the heroic stories of the past in museums and outdoor monuments, is today a middle-class industrial city. The canal port it has on the Danube River is particularly active in grain transportation. The city is developed in the fields of furniture, brick, packaging material and textile. Mecidiye Redoubt constructed by Sultan Abdulmecid 1 in 1848 in order to defend the city and Kurşunlu Mosque built in 1560 by Dülger Mustafa who was a student of Mimar Sinan are the two masterpieces bearing the traces of Ottoman Empire. Srebarna Nature Reserve, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List with its natural and unique atmosphere, Danube Park, Svoboda Square, Silistra Art Gallery and History Museum are the main sightseeing centers of the city. Silistra has a temperate climate. Silistra Airport is 12 km from the city center.
