Gebze
Gebze (ancient names: Dakibyza and Libyssa) is a district of Kocaeli. It is one of the important industrial centers of the Marmara Region. According to records, Gebze was founded in the IV century BC. The oldest known history of the Bithynian region, including Gebze, dates back to the XIIth century BC. The Kocaeli Peninsula, which is the most important passage between Asia and Europe, has either been the homeland of many nations or a place where they came and went and left traces of their civilizations. The first known nation migration was made by the Phrygians in the early 12th century BC. The Phrygians came to the Peninsula through the Bosphorus and dispersed throughout Anatolia.
Where Gebze is today, there were settlements called Dakibyza and Libyssa during the Bithynian Kingdom under the rule of King Nicomedes I between 278-255 BC. The most important reason why these settlements are the subject of research is that the famous Carthaginian commander Hannibal settled here during his reign. After his defeat at the Battle of Zama, Hannibal was not respected in his country and had to defect to the Kingdom of Bithynia. Hannibal's tomb is located in Gebze TÜBİTAK Campus.
Evliya Çelebi, who traveled to Gebze in 1640, said that there were about 1000 old-style houses with attached gardens.
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