Osmaneli (Osmaneli İlçesi)
Osmaneli is a town in Bilecik Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Osmaneli District. Its population is 16,192 (2021). The mayor is Münür Şahin. Its neighbours are Pamukova from north, Geyve from north-east, Gölpazarı from south-east, Bilecik from south, Yenişehir from south-west and İznik from west.
Situated on a hillside at a point where the Karasu, flowing down from Kandilli Dağ, enters the Sakarya, this small town was known in antiquity as Leukai and more recently as Lefke. South of the town is a narrow and very beautiful river gorge with rocky walls up to 100 m/328 ft high, contributing to some spectacular scenery.
In the west part of Osmaneli is the well-preserved ruins of a large Rum (Anatolian Greek) Orthodox church of the 1890s not far from it, a building that was used as a silk-spinning mill, and also the owner's house. There are several Ottoman-style homes available and watermelon festivals each year being celebrated, which is also worth seeing.
Osmaneli was a significant midpoint in the era of Byzantium and Ottoman Empires, and all armies have walked through this point during their expeditions. Osmaneli was a town, where Turks and Rums have lived together until the War of Independence. The only structure in Osmaneli left from such Rums, was a church, named Aya Yorgi, located on Cumhuriyet Avenue. It is understood from the archived documents that this 19th-century structure had passed through several different construction cycles. It is written in detail in those documents that the first structure had a basilica type crushed wooden roof, and following the privileges granted to Greek people as a result of Royal Edict of Reform, the current plan was implemented. This plan, in the shape of a Greek cross, currently does not have the top cover. The most remarkable point of the structure is the towers on both sides of the entrance, on the western side. These towers, covered with small domes, are used not only for climbing to the second floor but also as bell towers. Such type of twin towers at western sides of the buildings is common until the first years following Christ. These towers, which can also be seen in early Byzantium era churches, have also been integral parts of Romanic, Gothic, and Baroque cathedrals in European architecture since the days of the Carolingian Empire. It is also possible to see in Greek churches of the 19th century located in Istanbul and Anatolia during the Ottoman Empire that such towers were being used for the same functions and in the same shapes as they were being used in Europe. The most beautiful representative of this trend is this Greek Church in Osmaneli.
Situated on a hillside at a point where the Karasu, flowing down from Kandilli Dağ, enters the Sakarya, this small town was known in antiquity as Leukai and more recently as Lefke. South of the town is a narrow and very beautiful river gorge with rocky walls up to 100 m/328 ft high, contributing to some spectacular scenery.
In the west part of Osmaneli is the well-preserved ruins of a large Rum (Anatolian Greek) Orthodox church of the 1890s not far from it, a building that was used as a silk-spinning mill, and also the owner's house. There are several Ottoman-style homes available and watermelon festivals each year being celebrated, which is also worth seeing.
Osmaneli was a significant midpoint in the era of Byzantium and Ottoman Empires, and all armies have walked through this point during their expeditions. Osmaneli was a town, where Turks and Rums have lived together until the War of Independence. The only structure in Osmaneli left from such Rums, was a church, named Aya Yorgi, located on Cumhuriyet Avenue. It is understood from the archived documents that this 19th-century structure had passed through several different construction cycles. It is written in detail in those documents that the first structure had a basilica type crushed wooden roof, and following the privileges granted to Greek people as a result of Royal Edict of Reform, the current plan was implemented. This plan, in the shape of a Greek cross, currently does not have the top cover. The most remarkable point of the structure is the towers on both sides of the entrance, on the western side. These towers, covered with small domes, are used not only for climbing to the second floor but also as bell towers. Such type of twin towers at western sides of the buildings is common until the first years following Christ. These towers, which can also be seen in early Byzantium era churches, have also been integral parts of Romanic, Gothic, and Baroque cathedrals in European architecture since the days of the Carolingian Empire. It is also possible to see in Greek churches of the 19th century located in Istanbul and Anatolia during the Ottoman Empire that such towers were being used for the same functions and in the same shapes as they were being used in Europe. The most beautiful representative of this trend is this Greek Church in Osmaneli.
Map - Osmaneli (Osmaneli İlçesi)
Map
Country - Turkey
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One of the world's earliest permanently settled regions, present-day Turkey was home to important Neolithic sites like Göbekli Tepe, and was inhabited by ancient civilisations including the Hattians, Hittites, Anatolian peoples, Mycenaean Greeks, Persians and others. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great which started the Hellenistic period, most of the ancient regions in modern Turkey were culturally Hellenised, which continued during the Byzantine era. The Seljuk Turks began migrating in the 11th century, and the Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into small Turkish principalities. Beginning in the late 13th century, the Ottomans united the principalities and conquered the Balkans, and the Turkification of Anatolia increased during the Ottoman period. After Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, Ottoman expansion continued under Selim I. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire became a global power. From the late 18th century onwards, the empire's power declined with a gradual loss of territories. Mahmud II started a period of modernisation in the early 19th century. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 restricted the authority of the Sultan and restored the Ottoman Parliament after a 30-year suspension, ushering the empire into a multi-party period. The 1913 coup d'état put the country under the control of the Three Pashas, who facilitated the Empire's entry into World War I as part of the Central Powers in 1914. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Greek and Assyrian subjects. After its defeat in the war, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRY | Turkish lira | ₺ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| AV | Avar language |
| AZ | Azerbaijani language |
| KU | Kurdish language |
| TR | Turkish language |