Yalova is a market-gardening town located in northwestern Turkey on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. It is the seat of Yalova Province and Yalova District.[2] Its population is 133,109 (2022).[1] A largely modern town, it is best known for the spa resort at nearby Termal, a popular summer retreat for residents of Istanbul.[3]
Regular ferries connect Yalova with Istanbul via the Sea of Marmara. They are operated by İDO. [4]
Name
The name Yalova is assumed to be a contraction of Yalıova.[5]Yalı means 'house at the coast' and ova means 'plain' in Turkish.
History
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk with Ali Fethi Okyar and Okyar's daughter in Yalova, on August 13, 19301999 Earthquake Monument in Yalova, TurkeyMahaçkala Park in Yalova, TurkeySeaside in Yalova, Turkey
Ancient Yalova
"Pylae" and "Pylai" redirect here. For the town of ancient Cilicia, see Pylae (Cilicia).
The first settlement in the region dates back to the Prehistoric Period, in around 3000 BC.[citation needed] The Hittites ruled the region in the 21st century BC,[citation needed] followed by the Phrygians in the 13th century BC, and then the Greeks in the archaic, classical and Hellenistic eras. The region was conquered by the Romans in 74 BC. After the fall of the Roman Empire, it became part of the Byzantine Empire.
In Antiquity and for most of the Middle Ages, the town was known as Pylae or Pylai (Greek: Πύλαι), which is Greek for "gates" since it was positioned at the start of one of the main routes to Asia for anyone crossing the Sea of Marmara into Bithynia from Europe.[6]
Middle Ages
In the Byzantine period the town retained some its importance due to its geographic location, and emperors frequently used it as a disembarkation point from Constantinople. Thus Emperor Heraclius landed here in 622, at the beginning of his counter-offensive against the Persians, and Romanos IV Diogenes did the same in 1071, on his way to the Battle of Manzikert.[6] In the 9th century, the town was also the site of one of the beacons that transmitted news from the frontier with the Abbasid Caliphate, and contained an imperial hostel for travellers. In the late 10th century, however, Leo of Synada described Pylae as little more than a village, where cattle, horses, pigs and other animals were gathered to be shipped to Constantinople.[6]
After their victory at Manzikert, the town and surrounding district were raided by the Seljuk Turks but soon recovered. In 1147 Greek refugees from Phrygia were settled here. In a 1199 charter of privileges granted to Venetian merchants, it is listed as a separate fiscal district (episkepsi) along with neighbouring Pythia Therma, and it was a separate province by the time of the Fourth Crusade (1204).[6] Following the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders, Pylae formed part of the Empire of Nicaea, and served as the main port for Nicaea itself.[6] Pylae remained in Byzantine hands until ca. 1302, when Turkish attacks intensitied, forcing much of the population to abandon it and seek refuge in the Princes' Islands.[6]
Ottoman and Republican eras
Shortly afterwards, Yalova was incorporated into the territory of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Orhan. It became part of the Sanjak of Kocaeli and was known successively as "Yalakabad" and "Yalıova". Since the second half of the 19th century, a large number of Avar immigrants from Dagestan moved into the town.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk occasionally lived in Yalova in his later years, claiming in one of his speeches that "Yalova is my city." After the recapture of Yalova by the Turkish Army on 19 July 1921.
Yalova was initially the centre for the Karamürsel district of Kocaeli Province. In 1930 it became a district centre in Istanbul province after joining two villages from Orhangazi. Finally in 1995 it became a provincial capital.
Attractions
In Yalova town
In the town itself the only significant attraction is the so-called Yürüyen Köşkü (Walking Pavilon), a pretty waterside villa which was used by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkey, during his visits. It takes its name from the fact that Atatürk preferred to have it dismantled and moved slightly rather than cut down a tree that was impeding the view as its grew.
The Yalova Earthquake Monument in the 17 August Park on the coast of Marmara Sea commemorates the thousands of lives lost in August 1999 when a huge earthquake devastated the north-west corner of Turkey which included Yalova.
In Termal
Yalova is best known for the hot springs in the Termal district, which gets its name from the Greek word thermae (θερμαί) 'warm'. There appears to have been some sort of spa resort here since Byzantine times and the 17th-century travel writer Evliya Çelebi reported the existence of the Kurşunlu Banyo (Leaded Bath) at the time of his visit. The resort was expanded during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II and again during Atatürk's day.[10]
Also in Termal is the Atatürk Arboretum which is said to contain 1800 different species of plant. It was commissioned by Atatürk in 1929 and was the first arboretum in the country. [11] A summer-house used by Atatürk is also open to the public in the grounds.[12]
Bursa, historically known as Prusa, is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of Turkey's automotive production takes place in Bursa. As of 2019, the Metropolitan Province was home to 3,056,120 inhabitants, 2,161,990 of whom lived in the 3 city urban districts plus Gürsu and Kestel.
Tekirdağ is a city in Turkey. It is located on the north coast of the Sea of Marmara, in the region of East Thrace. The city forms the urban part of the Süleymanpaşa district, with a population of 186,421 in 2022.
Kartal is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 38 km2, and its population is 483,418 (2022). It is located on the Asian side of the city, on the coast of the Marmara Sea between Maltepe and Pendik.
Beşiktaş is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and on the east by the Bosphorus. Directly across the Bosphorus is the district of Üsküdar.
Erzincan, historically Yerznka, is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Sunni Turkish with an Alevi Kurdish minority.
Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District. Its population is 365,274 (2022).
Ortaköy is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Beşiktaş, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 9,423 (2022). It is on the European shore of the Bosphorus. it was originally a small fishing village, known in Greek as Agios Fokas in the Byzantine period and then as Mesachorion.
Adapazarı is a municipality and the capital district of Sakarya Province, Turkey. Its area is 324 km2, and its population is 281,489 (2022). It covers the central and northern part of the agglomeration of Adapazarı and the adjacent countryside.
Bakırköy is a municipality and district in the European part of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 29 km2, and its population is 226,685 (2022). Bakırköy lies between the D.100 highway and the coast of the Sea of Marmara. Bakırköy has a large psychiatric hospital called "Bakırköy Ruh ve Sinir Hastalıkları Hastanesi", and is an important shopping and commercial center.
Küçükçekmece, is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 44 km2, and its population was 326,452 in 2022. It is 23 kilometers west of the city centre and lies next to Lake Küçükçekmece. Both the lake and land reside on the European shore of the Sea of Marmara. It is the second most populous district of Istanbul.
Bolu, formerly Claudiopolis, is a city in northern Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province and of Bolu District, located on the highway between Istanbul and Ankara. Its population is 184,682 (2021).
Silivri, formerly Selymbria, is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 217,163 (2022). It lies along the Sea of Marmara, outside the urban core of Istanbul, containing many holiday and weekend homes for residents of the city. The largest settlement in the district is also named Silivri.
Düzce is a city in northwestern Turkey, the capital city of Düzce Province, the eighty-first province in the country. It is the seat of Düzce District. Its population is 194,097.
Nevşehir is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Nevşehir Province and Nevşehir District. Its population is 123,882 (2022). It is 290 km (180 mi) from the capital Ankara and lies within the historical region of Cappadocia.
Bayburt is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River. It is the seat of Bayburt Province and Bayburt District. Its population is 48,036 (2021).
Erdek is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 307 km2, and its population is 31,902 (2022). Located on the Kapıdağ Peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Erdek at the south of the Sea of Marmara, Erdek is a popular domestic holiday destination with several hotels dating back to the 1960s. The surrounding area has a rugged geology and topography with evergreen wooded areas and large olive groves. It is dominated by Mt Dindymus (782m).
The Marmara Region is a geographical region of Turkey.
Darıca is a municipality and district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 23 km2, and its population is 225,602 (2022). The district Darıca was created in 2008 from part of the district of Gebze, along with the districts Çayırova and Dilovası. The current mayor is Muzaffer Bıyık.
Yeniköy, known in Greek as Neochorion, Neochori (Νεοχώρι), or Nichori, sometimes also referred to as Yeni Kioi, is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Sarıyer, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 14,963 (2022). It is located on the European shores of the Bosphorus strait, between the neighbourhoods of İstinye and Tarabya.
İzmit is a municipality and the capital district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 480 km2, and its population is 376,056 (2022). The capital of Kocaeli Province, it is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about 100 km (62 mi) east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. Kocaeli Province had a population of 2,079,072 inhabitants in 2022, of whom approximately 1.2 million lived in the largely urban İzmit City metro area made up of Kartepe, Başiskele, Körfez, Gölcük, Derince and Sapanca. Unlike other provinces in Turkey, apart from Istanbul, the whole province is included within the municipality of the metropolitan center.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
