Sakarya

Province of northwest Turkey, bordered to the north by the Black Sea, to the east by Bolu, to the south by Bilecik, to the southwest by Bursa, and to the west by Kocaeli; area 4,820 sq km/1,854 sq mi; population (1990 est) 683,100. The capital is Adapazari. Industries include woollen textiles, agricultural machinery, and sugar refining.

Sakarya is named after the Sakarya River, which winds northwards to the Black Sea, across a marshy plain dotted with lakes, including Sülüklü, Akgö, Taşkisiǧi, Gökçeören, and Sapanca. In the southeast, the land rises to the Elmacik and Kapiormani mountain ranges, reaching a height of 1,631 m/5,351 ft.

The province dates from 378 BC, and contains many Roman and Byzantine sites. The Bes Kopru, a 429 m/1407 ft long, eight-arched bridge, was built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian in AD 533. Resort beaches, such as those at Karasu, lie along the coast of the Black Sea. Akyazi is renowned for the Tarakli thermal springs.

The densely-populated province has been devastated by earthquakes in 1967 and 1999. The 1999 earthquake, although centred on Izmit, seriously affected Adapazari, which lies on the same faultline.