Osmaneli

Osmaneli

Osmaneli is a district of Bilecik province in Southern Marmara. It is surrounded by Pamukova district of Sakarya in the north, Geyve district of Sakarya in the northeast, Gölpazarı district in the southeast, Central district in the south, Yenişehir district of Bursa in the west and İznik district of Bursa in the northwest. Osmaneli, which dates back to the remains of Thracian tombs dating back to 1000 BC, is an Anatolian district that joined the Ottoman lands in 1308. Osmaneli's surface area is 526 square km and the population of the district center is 14,521. As mentioned by Evliya Çelebi in his travel book, many agricultural products, especially quince, watermelon and olives, are famous. The first known name of Osmaneli was called Mela or Gallos in the first age, inspired by the Göksu (Gallos) Stream passing near it in the language of the Luwis, one of the first settled peoples of Anatolia. For this reason, the first known name is Melewana (the city of the Mela people). In the Hellenization era, the name of the city turned into Melagina. In later periods it was called Lefke. Lefke was named after the ancient Hellenic saying Leuikai "White Poplar". In 1308, it was conquered and joined the Ottoman lands. In 1913, it was named Osmaneli. On April 30, 1926, it became a district of Bilecik province.

Osmaneli is one of the districts through which the Istanbul-Hijaz railway passes. Until the exchange in 1926, Greeks lived in the region. The most permanent example of Greek culture is the ruins of Aya Yorgi Church. Again, until the 1970s, silk production was carried out by Greek families on a business basis.