Escape the Crowds

İznik: the lake, the walls and the tiles

Ancient Nicaea — Roman walls you can still walk through, the church of the councils, and the workshops that make the tiles the world knows.

₺a full daya weekend day — finish on the lakeshore at sunset

Save for later — join Smileys

Why do it?

An hour and a half east, on the shore of its own lake, İznik is Nicaea: the city of the first Christian ecumenical council, of the Byzantine court in exile, of the early Ottomans — and of the famous blue-and-white tiles. The Roman-Byzantine walls still ring the town and you drive in through their gates. In the center, the Ayasofya where the seventh council met is now the Orhan mosque, open and free, its mosaics and frescoes still visible. A new museum building opened in 2023 for the archaeological finds, the excavated Ottoman tile kilns sit behind the Ayasofya as an open-air site, and working tile studios sell what they make. Then there is the lake itself, huge and calm, with tea gardens along the shore.

The Smileys Take

Make it a full day and don't rush the walls — walk the İstanbul and Lefke gates, then the center on foot. Buy tiles from a studio, not a stall, and talk to the maker; this is a craft that was nearly lost and revived. Eat by the lake, and stay for sunset on the shore, which is the moment İznik earns the drive. Best done with a shared car for a group of four or five — it's one of our favorite Smileys road days from Bursa.