İznik

İznik tiles and pottery — produced in this Turkish town since the Ottoman period — made Nicaea, as it was known in antiquity, one of the most influential ceramic centres in the world. The ancient city walls still ring the town, and inside them stands the Ayasofya Mosque, site of the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. The town sits at the eastern end of Lake İznik, with hills to the north and south, and lies within road distance of both Bursa and Istanbul.

• Population22,230
• Nearest water1.6 km
• Nearest mountain6.3 km