Şile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See River Sile for the river in Italy

Síle is also a girl's name in Irish, usually anglicized as Sheila.

Şile is a small holiday town on the Black Sea, 70 km from the city of Istanbul, Turkey. In 2000 the population was 32,923 of which 10,571 live in the town of Şile and the remainder in surrounding villages, including Ağva. However between June and September the population multiplies with residents of the city who have summer houses here.

There has been a fishing village here since 700 BC and a lighthouse since the Ottoman period. Today Şile is a beach resort, popular with people who want a resort atmosphere without having to go to the expense of travelling to the Mediterranean Sea. Şile is about an hour's drive from the city and was always a retreat from the city. Then during Turkey's economic boom of the 1990's a great many summer homes and holiday villages were built for the city's middle class, especially after the 1999 earthquake damaged the Marmara coast. There is a small but sandy beach, a little harbour of fishing boats, dense forest behind and a quiet pleasant atmosphere during the week. At weekends though, and especially on a hot summer Sunday Şile is crowded with day-trippers from the poorer districts of the city, who come packed into minibuses and vans to picnic, play football and leave litter on the beach. There are a number of bars and restaurants with sea views, especially in the little park around the lighthouse

Şile however, is on the northernmost point of Istanbul and thus, shares the same sea conditions as other Black Sea towns where strong sea undercurrents can be dangerous to inexperienced swimmers. There is insufficient danger warning and people drown here regularly. And of course the north-facing Black Sea has a much shorter holiday season than the Aegean, the Mediterranean or even the Marmara Sea. The winters are cold, although a big storm blowing off the Black Sea in winter has a dramatic beauty of its own.

The tomb of a Muslim saint, Kum baba, is on a tree-covered hill above Şile. And on the coast near Şile in the village of Kızılcaköy is a cave said to be the scene of events in the Anabasis of Xenephon, although this is probably untrue.

Şile bezi is a crimpled-looking light see-through cotton fabric, made here on this coast, and sold in many shops in the town, and sent to the bazaars of Istanbul also. There is a fair to promote Şile bezi in the town every summer.

Işık University has a campus in Şile.

The name Şile is a Greek word for a kind of flower.

[edit] External links

• Işık University Şile campus (English)
• Şile Municipality (Turkish)
• a firm manufacturing Şile bezi (Turkish)

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