Bilecik Province

Bilecik Province

Bilecik ili
Bilecik Province Bilecik ili
Province
	High speed train at Bilecik
	Location of the province within Turkey
Country	Turkey
Seat	Bilecik
Government
• Governor	Şefik Aygöl
Area	4,179 km2 (1,614 sq mi)
Population (2022)	228,673
• Density	55/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3 (TRT)
Area code	0228
Website	www.bilecik.gov.tr

Bilecik Province (Turkish: Bilecik ili) is a province in midwest Turkey, neighboring Bursa to the west, Kocaeli and Sakarya to the north, Bolu to the east, Eskişehir to the southeast and Kütahya to the south. Its area is 4,179 km²,^[2] and its population is 228,673 (2022).^[1] Most of the province laid down in Marmara Region but eastern parts of Gölpazarı and Söğüt district and districts of İnhisar and Yenipazar remained in Black Sea Region, smaller southeastern parts of Bozüyük and Söğüt remained in Central Anatolia Region and smaller southwestern part of Bozüyük remained in Aegean Region.

History

The region was inhabited as early as 3000 BC, and was part of the territory controlled by such notable civilizations as the Hittites (1400–1200 BC), the Phrygians (1200–676 BC), Lydians (595–546 BC), Persians (546–334 BC), Romans (74–395 AD) and Byzantians (395 AD to late 13th century, with two brief occupations by Umayyads in between).

The region also contains Söğüt, the small town where the Kayi tribe of Turkomans under Osman Gazi united as the Ottomans and founded the Ottoman Beylik which would later develop into the Ottoman Empire which was founded in 1299, and is the source of important archeological as well as cultural artifacts.

Geography

Köppen map of Bilecik Province and surrounding regions:^[3]

BSk
Csa
Csb
Cfa
Cfb
Dsb

Bilecik Province contains wide array of geographical and climatic zones in its borders. The province is dominated by hills and deep valleys. The western end of the Anatolian Plateau is also located in the province. Sakarya River and Karasu are the most important rivers in the province.^[4]

Districts

Bilecik province is divided into 8 districts (capital district in bold):

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1927	113,660	—
1935	125,421	+1.24%
1940	127,977	+0.40%
1950	137,030	+0.69%
1960	145,699	+0.62%
1970	138,856	−0.48%
1980	147,001	+0.57%
1990	175,526	+1.79%
2000	194,326	+1.02%
2010	225,381	+1.49%
2020	218,717	−0.30%
Source:Turkstat^[5]^[6]^[7]

Sites of interest

In Söğüt a site of interest is the Ethnographical Museum.

The town Bilecik is famous for its numerous restored Turkish houses.

Some other sites of interest in the province are: Osman Gazi and Orhan Gazi Mosques, Seyh Edebali and Mal Hatun mausoleums, Köprülü Mehmet Pasha Mosque, Köprülü Caravanserai, Kaplikaya tombs, Rüstem Pasha Mosque, and Gülalan Pavilion.