Sakarya mixes farmland, rivers and forest with a growing industrial base. Adapazarı, the centre, is a busy regional city with universities, hospitals and shopping streets, and the province is known across Turkey for its hazelnuts, its fresh produce and Adapazarı's own style of köfte.
The motorway between Istanbul and Ankara crosses the province, so the lake and the coast make an easy weekend trip from Istanbul. On the Black Sea, Karasu and Kocaali have long sandy beaches and many summer houses; they fill with holidaymakers in summer and are much quieter the rest of the year.
Sapanca and the lake
Sapanca is the province's best-known address. Hotels, bungalows, villas and restaurants are spread over the wooded hills around the lake, and the area is especially busy at weekends and in summer. Homes here are often detached houses, villas or bungalows with gardens, many of them used as second homes. The town of Sapanca has everyday shops and services, so the lake can also work for year-round living. Weekend traffic on the roads to the lake can be heavy, which matters if you plan to commute. Visitors from the Gulf have made it one of their favourite summer destinations in Turkey.
What to check
- Around the lake, building rules are strict and parts of the basin are protected, so check the zoning status (imar durumu) before anything else.
- Make sure a bungalow or villa is licensed as a home, and that what you see matches the title deed and the building permit.
- Short-term holiday lets now need a permit, so check the rules before you plan to rent out a bungalow or villa.
- The region lies in an earthquake zone: ask for the building permit date and the ground survey.
- Visit outside the high season, too, and if it will be a holiday home, plan who will look after it in winter.
Contact us for current homes around the lake and in the rest of the province.
