The meadow at Gebze is called the Sovereign's Meadow because Mehmed II stopped here with his army, or had his tent pitched here, on the campaign he was leading towards Italy on Friday 27 April 1481. He died on 3 May of that year.
The fountain on the meadow carries an inscription. It was built in memory of Mehmed II, in 1659, in the reign of Mehmed IV, by the grand vizier İbrahim Paşa, and has stood since, with repairs. People also call it the Fatih sebil, and hold it to mark the spot where the tent stood. A monument to Mehmed II has been raised in front of it. The meadow was laid out again in 1995 as a park and festival ground, and traditional wrestling festivities are held there every year for the anniversary of the conquest of İstanbul. Municipal buses run out from the city centre.
Getting there
- Access
- Private public buses from the city centre reach the Hünkar meadow and fountain in the Gebze district.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Kocaeli as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 6.3 °C in January to 24 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June, July, August, September and October; rainfall is heaviest in December (108 mm) and lightest in August (42 mm). Long-term means for 1929-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
