Şile is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 800 km², and its population is 43,464 (2022). Bordering Şile is the province of Kocaeli (districts of

Gebze Gebze (), formerly known as Libyssa, is a municipality and district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 418 km2, and its population is 407,019 (2022). It is situated 65 km (30 mi) southeast of Istanbul, on the Gulf of Izmit, ...

Körfez Körfez, formerly known as Elaia, or Elaea, is a municipality and district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 301 km2, and its population is 178,048 (2022). The mayor is Şener Söğüt ( AKP) and the district governor is Uğur Kalkar, ...

Derince Derince is a seaport, municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 198 km2, and its population is 146,374 (2022). The mayor is Zeki Aygün (Justice and Development Party (Turkey), AK Parti). Derinc ...

Kandıra Kandıra is a municipality and district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 840 km2, and its population is 52,874 (2022). Its neighbours are Kaynarca to the east, Adapazarı to the southeast, İzmit to the south and Şile to the west. ...

) to the east and south, and Istanbul districts of

Pendik Pendik () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 190 km2, and its population is 750,435 (2022). It is on the Asian side between Kartal and Tuzla, on the Marmara Sea. It also neighbours Sultanbeyli, San ...

to the south,

Çekmeköy Çekmeköy is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 152 km2, and its population is 296,066 (2022). It is on the Asian side of Istanbul. In 2008 the district Çekmeköy was created from part of the district Ü ...

to the southwest, and

Beykoz Beykoz () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 310 km2, and its population is 247,875 (2022). It lies at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. The name i ...

to the west. The popular resort town

Ağva Ağva is a neighbourhood and resort town in the municipality and district of Şile, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 2,150 (2022). History The area around Ağva was a part of ancient Bithynia. During the Ottoman era, Turkmen people ...

is also a part of Şile. However, between June and September, the population rapidly increases because of the many residents of Istanbul who have summer houses in Şile.

History

The word ''şile'' means

marjoram Marjoram (, ''Origanum majorana'') is a cold-sensitive perennial plant, 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 ...

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

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

. 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 (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

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

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

, 3

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

and 6 foreign citizens. The boundaries of Şile were expanded by the addition of the village of Esenceli from Beykoz district in 1989.

Composition

There are 62

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Şile District: * Ağaçdere *

Merkez * Ahmetli * Akçakese * Alacalı * Avcıkoru * Balibey * Bıçkıdere * Bozgoca * Bucaklı * Çataklı * Çavuş * Çayırbaşı * Çelebi * Çengilli * Darlık * Değirmençayırı * Doğancılı * Erenler * Esenceli * Geredeli * Göçe * Gökmaşlı * Göksu * Hacı Kasım * Hacıllı * Hasanlı * İmrendere * İmrenli * İsaköy * Kabakoz * Kadıköy * Kalem * Karabeyli * Karacaköy * Karakiraz * Karamandere * Kervansaray * Kızılca * Kömürlük * Korucu * Kumbaba * Kurfallı * Kurna * Meşrutiyet * Oruçoğlu * Osmanköy * Ovacık * Sahilköy * Satmazlı * Sofular * Soğullu * Sortullu * Şuayipli * Teke * Ulupelit * Üvezli * Yaka * Yaylalı * Yazımanayır * Yeniköy * Yeşilvadi

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 (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

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 sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...

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 relatively colder winters.

Şile Castle Şile Castle () or Ocaklı Ada Castle is a castle located on Ocaklı Island in the Şile district of Istanbul. It was criticized for its appearance after the restoration of 2015 because it looked like SpongeBob SquarePants. History There are two ...

() 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 ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

or an illustration from the video game ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...

''. The tomb of a

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

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''), ...

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

. Şile is also known for

Şile cloth Şile is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 800 km2, and its population is 43,464 (2022). Bordering Şile is the province of Kocaeli (districts of Gebze, Körfez, Derince, Kandıra) to the east and south, ...

, a crimped-looking, light, see-through

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, 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 ...

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

, 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 A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

via

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

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

Climate

Şile's climate is

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...

according to the

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

and Trewartha climate classification, though until recently, the town was in the

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, ...

zone. Şile's climate is marked by high humidity. It is in plant hardiness zone 8b, and AHS heat zone 2.

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 (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt (Old Town) it is part of the ''Deutsch ...

, 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 border ...

, 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 Fishing communities in Turkey Populated coastal places in Turkey Seaside resorts in Turkey Tourist attractions in Istanbul Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Districts of Istanbul Province