Nilüfer River



The Nilufer or Niloufer River (Nilüfer Çayı) is a river in Turkey. From its source near Mount Uludağ (the classical Mysian Olympus) and flowing past Bursa, the river tends to the northwest along its course of 203 km.

The Nilufer was the classical Odrysses (Horisius). Its plain was known as Mygdonia and formed the Persian satrapy of Dascylium. It formerly flowed into the Rhyndacus but now joins the Simav (ancient Macestos) north of Karacabey.

In Turkish, nilüfer means "water lily." The river may have been renamed for the flowers or for Nilüfer Hatun, a wife of the Ottoman sultan Orhan. The district of Nilüfer in Bursa Province is named after the river.

Today, the Doğancı-1 Dam crosses it.