Map - Zeytinbağı

Tirilye (also known as Zeytinbağı, Olive yard) is a town in Bursa Province, Turkey, situated 12 km west of Mudanya along the Marmara seashore. The area, which was inhabited since the eighth century BC, was formerly known as Τρίγλεια, Trigleia or Βρύλλειον, Brylleion in Greek. The most important historical structure in Trilye (Triglia) is that of the Byzantine Haghios Stefanos Church (Hinolakkos Monastery, 780 AC), known today as the Fatih Mosque. Mudanya, a residential and commercial development in this township is under state protection as a historical site.

Trilye has been an important religious center for Greek Orthodox Christians during Byzantine Empire. Of most churches and monasteries only ruins remain. Trilye is a first level protected area since 1981 (decision of the High Council of Monuments 12588/13.3.1981) because of the Byzantine and Ottoman architectural monuments and is considered as an open-air museum thanks to the historical buildings and houses.

Only 2500 people currently live in the town due to the impact of the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Greek houses were built at the end of the 18th and 19th century prior to the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Today, the town is under the protection of the Ministry of Culture meaning that old houses cannot be destroyed or rebuild in a different style to the origina one. The place is known for its olives and had historically been inhabited by Greek artisans engaged in the silk trade.

The area has been host to various civilizations since antiquity. Tirilye is the original village. Although the name of the village has been officially changed to Zeytinbağı (Olive Orchard), that name is rarely, if ever, used in daily life, and the name Trilye is used instead.

There are several legends about the origins of the name. One is that the area was famous for red mullet and red gurnard and that those fish were the main course of the Byzantine emperors' tables. "Trigleia" (Triglia lucerna) is a word in Greek for such fish.

Another legend comes from the Genoese. Three inhabitants of the village were distressed by the looting of pirates. Therefore, they combined their power and decided to live together. The name Tirilye is said to be derived from those three villagers.

When demand for the products of Southern Marmara from the ancient world increased, ports have been constructed in Kios (Gemlik), Kurşunlu, Apamea Myrlea(Mudanya), Siği (Kumyaka), and Trigleia and the region boomed. Christians use to live in Trigleia and Asia Minor many centuries before the Ottomans conquered the Byzantine Empire and established themselves in the area. Churches and monasteries were constructed in Trigleia and its surroundings on the patronage of Byzantine Emperors.

Osman Gazi's Turkmens in Bursa and surroundings have started settling in this location from the beginning of the year 1303, although the majority of the population was (Greek Orthodox) Christians. Kaymak Oba, Mirza Oba and Çepni villages located at the back of Trilye are believed to have been established during this era. After Mudanya was conquered in 1321 Trilye's ports and other ports in the region started being used. The land at the western parts of Bursa namely the area between current Minor Industry Area (Küçük Sanayi Bölgesi) and Uluabat Lake were very fertile. Grapes, cocoons and cereal crops were grown in this region. In addition the Tahtalı, Demirci and Doğancı regions had high quality wood used in the production of ships. There are signs proving a Genoese cargo boat has visited Trilye port in the 1330s.

According to Ottoman sources in 1521 and 1573, cash tax of 46 thousand coins was paid. In 1521 180 Greek households lived in the village, and in 1573 280 Greek households lived in 9 Greek neighborhoods. In addition, there were 23 Muslim households on this date. As can be seen, after 1521, Islamization intensified in Trigleia and a neighborhood was established with 23 Muslim soldiers. It is understood from the presence of the imam that there is also a mosque in this neighborhood (Raif Kaplanoglu). During 1692 there were 234 non Muslim houses in Trigleia which means 936 non Muslims persons (SOURCE: BOA: Bab-ı Defteri, D.CMH. d, Defter No:26632). In 1870, there were 1715 people, 1660 Greeks, 55 Turks, in Tirili, and in 1895 199 Turks and 3,657 Greeks, a total of 3856 people according to the Annual Book of 1895. (Ertürk, 2009, p. 8 ).

Even after the Ottoman Empire absorbed the area, it remained Greek-populated. Although some Muslims from several areas in Anatolia had settled here the Christian population remained in the majority. At the end of the 19th century, 3,657 Greeks lived in the town against 199 Muslims. By 1920, only 20-25 Turkish households remained in Tirilye. In fact, when the war escalated, Captain Phillip of Tirilye took all the villagers on his ship and set sail for the Muslims. But then these Muslims from Tirilye landed in Tekirdağ and sent their Greek neighbors to Greece from here.