Sile Istanbul

There has been a fishing village here since 700 BC and a lighthouse since the Ottoman period. Today, Þile 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. Þile is about an hour's drive from the city and was always a retreat from the city. During Turkey's economic boom of the 1990s, 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 Þile is crowded with day-trippers from the poorer districts of the city, who come packed into minibuses and vans to picnic and play football. There are a number of bars and restaurants with sea views, especially in the little park around the lighthouse.

Þile 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. 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.

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

Þile 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 Þile bezi in the town every summer.

Iþýk University is located in Þile.

Þile is an ancient Greek word meaning "Wild Flower".

Þile district is famous for its beaches and Þile cloth. Neighbours of Þile are:

• Kandýra - east
• Derince - southeast
• Gebze - south
• Pendik - south
• Ümraniye - southwest
• Beykoz - west
• The boundaries of Þile were expanded by the addition of the village of Esenceli from Beykoz district in 1987. Þile consists of Merkez, Aðva (has a municipality), Yeþilvadi and Teke subdistricts, and 58 villages.

How to get there?

There is ab public Bus from Harem via Üsküdar (located at the Anatolian side of Istanbul, ferry from Eminönü) to Sile (IETT Line 139).