Şile is a city and district in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_ ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. According to the 2007 census, the population of the district was 25,169, of which 9,831 lived in the city of Şile, 2,096 in the nearby town of Ağva (Yeşilçay) and 13,242 in surrounding villages. However, between June and September, the population rapidly increases because of the many residents of Istanbul who have summer houses in Şile. The district of Şile is part of the province ( il) of Istanbul, and the municipality of Şile is part of the metropolitan government ( büyükşehir belediyesi) of Istanbul. Bordering Şile is the province of Kocaeli (districts of

Gebze Gebze (,) is a district in Kocaeli Province, Turkey. It is situated 65 km (30 mi) southeast of Istanbul, on the Gulf of Izmit, the eastern arm of the Sea of Marmara. Gebze is the largest district per population size in the province as o ...

, Körfez,

Derince Derince is a seaport, city and district of Kocaeli Province of Turkey. The mayor is Zeki Aygün ( AK Parti). Derince Port is one of the few ports in Turkey under government control. The port is operated by the Turkish State Railways (TCDD). Ha ...

, Kandıra) to the east and south, and Istanbul districts of

Pendik Pendik is a district of Istanbul, Turkey on the Asian side between Kartal and Tuzla, on the Marmara Sea. Home to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. Population is 711,894. It also neighbours Sultanbeyli, Sancaktepe and Çekmeköy from nor ...

to the south, Çekmeköy to the southwest, and Beykoz to the west. The boundaries of Şile were expanded by the addition of the village of Esenceli from Beykoz district in 1987. Şile consists of Şile, Yeşilvadi and Teke subdistricts, and 58 villages. The mayor is Can Tabakoğlu ( AKP). Popular resort Ağva is also a part of Şile.

History

The word ''şile'' means

marjoram Marjoram (; ''Origanum majorana'') is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted mar ...

in Turkish. The word's etymology is said to be

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. There has been a fishing village here since 700 BC and a lighthouse since the Ottoman period. According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82-1893, the

kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

of Şile had a total population of 16.770, consisting of 10.314 Muslims, 6.447

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, o ...

, 3

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

and 6 foreign citizens.

Features

Şile is famous for its

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shells ...

es. However, it is at the northernmost point of Istanbul and thus shares the same sea conditions as other

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Ro ...

towns where strong sea undercurrents can be dangerous to inexperienced swimmers. Beachgoers drown here annually on a regular basis. The north-facing Black Sea has a much shorter holiday season than the Aegean, the Mediterranean or even the Marmara, due to the cold winters. Şile Castle ( tr, Şile Kalesi) is a 14th-century Genoese castle on an island in Şile. The castle was renovated in 2015, sparking criticism that the work had made it resemble the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants or an illustration from the video game ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before bei ...

''. The tomb of a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

saint, Kum Baba, is on a tree-covered hill above Şile. Along the coast near Şile, in the village of Kızılcaköy, is a cave which, according to a local myth, is said to be the scene of events in the

Anabasis Anabasis (from Greek ''ana'' = "upward", ''bainein'' = "to step or march") is an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. Anabase and Anabasis may also refer to: History * ''Anabasis Alexandri'' (''Anabasis of Alexander''), a ...

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies of ...

. Şile is also known for Şile cloth, a crimped-looking, light, see-through

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not t ...

, made on the Şile coast, sold in many shops in the town and sent to the bazaars of Istanbul. A fair is held in the town to promote Şile cloth every summer. The largest campus of Işık University is located in Şile.

Transport

Şile is a part of Istanbul public transport system (İETT). There is a bus from

Harem Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A ha ...

via

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıkö ...

(located at the Anatolian side of Istanbul) to Şile ( İETT Lines 139 and 139A).

Climate

Şile's climate, typical of northern Istanbul, is

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

''(Cfb'') according to the Köppen climate classification, but the Trewartha climate classification classifies it as

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, similarly to the Bosphorus coast. Şile's climate is marked by high precipitation and milder summers than most of Istanbul. It is in plant hardiness zone 8b, and AHS heat zone 2. Şile 6921

Twin towns – sister cities

Şile is twinned with: *

Idstein Idstein () is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt (Old Town) it is part of the ''Deutsche Fachwerkstraße'' ...

, Germany * Barcaldin, Australia *

Cazin Cazin ( sr-cyrl, Цазин) is a city located in Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Bosanska Krajina region, near the borde ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina

References

;Sources * Hürel, Haldun. ''Semtleri, Mahalleri, Caddeleri ve Sokakları A'dan Z'ye İstanbul'un Alfabetik Öyküsü''. İstanbul, 2008. .

External links

Işık University

Şile Municipality

Şile Port - Tourist Information

A firm manufacturing Şile bezi

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sile Populated places in Istanbul Province Cities in Turkey Fishing communities in Turkey Populated coastal places in Turkey Seaside resorts in Turkey Tourist attractions in Istanbul Province Districts of Istanbul Province