Site Visits in Şile and Ağva

THE IPA FLB Governorship of Istanbul and IPA Partner 2 Bahcesehir University, Development of Vocational and Technical Education Center (METGEM) executed fieldworks in Pilot Project Regions, Şile and Ağva.

FIELDWORKS IN VILLAGES OF ŞİLE AND AĞVA
IPA FLB Governorship of Istanbul and IPA Partner 2 Bahcesehir University, Development of Vocational and Technical Education Center (METGEM) began to execute fieldworks in pilot project regions. In order to access the items which can be assessed as ‘cultural heritage’ and to create a route, it was arranged three site visits till now. Within the scope of these works, project team visited five villages and some other places, met with village mukhtars and elders of villages to learn the history of villages.



Ovacık Village -14^th of May
The first visit was arranged to Ovacık Village on the 14th of May. The headman of the village showed his place where  he grows oyster mushroom, explained in which circumstances it grows and what to do with these.To examine the beehives, he brought the project team to the apiary where the chestnut honey was made. The chesthut trees are in the natural vegetation of Şile Region and the honey is well known especially as healing and antiseptic side. And due to its intense aroma and good taste, the honey is appreciated at international level.
Yeniköy Village-14^th of May
In the same day, it was arranged a site visit to Yeniköy village, met local people there and listened the history of the village. The mukhtar brought the team to the baptistery remnants which said to be 150-200 years old. The village has a trekking trail of approximately 6 km length.  
  In this village, there is produced Chestnut honey too. This production is the livelihood of some people.

 

This village is well known for its Bosnian manti and Bosnian pastry.

Saklıgöl-14^th of May
The last stop of day was to Saklıgöl in Karamandere village.This pond between mountains is said to occur via rain waters and is one of the most important natural values of Sile.


Kabakoz Village-27^th of May

Kabakoz Village is located between mountains. In the square of the village there is a 700 year old plane tree which symbolises the village and documents its history.

It seems that it achieved to be the preference of many tourists thanks to the closeness of it to the county seat as well as its well protected nature and beach.

The most important cultural asset that introduces Şile to the world is Şile Cloth. In this village, there are only two people weaving Sile Cloth in hand looms; one of them has automatic looms too. It is manufactured from sewing cotton.

The Şile cloth is used in many ways like clothing, accessory and decoration object.


Akçakese Village-27^th of May
Being founded on a hill, Akçakese Village has a 800 meters length coast which has a great potential in attracting tourists.

There are about 60 wooden houses in the village which was taken under protection by the Council of Monuments. Some of the houses are still being used thanks to renovations but the big part is in ruins.

 

Kurfallı Village-16^th of June
First visit of the day is to Kurfallı village which located at hillside. The village is favorable especially for its pastry called “mancarlı” with spinach and egg in it. People of the village are cooking the pastries, pies in the oven which built in the middle of village. In order to cook there, villagers are deciding for the groups to cook in the same day, they are organizing the lists and when the day come, the group of the day are cooking by helping each other. This is important because the cooperation between people doesn’t end at all. There is an old fountain in the middle of the village. The fountain is now under protection by the headman, who conducted that of environment monitoring. In the village, there are also old wooden structures; which are severely worned. The headman, afterwards, took our team to the pond, which is plated by reeds, here, the thing he wishes to do is to increase the potential of the village, by cleaning the pond.

Kilimli Bay-16^th of June
Kilimli Bay is a popular place among the domestic and foreign tourists with its white sand. There are small bays in this bay hidden among the huge rocks. Carved by wind and waves, there are rocky sculptures and natural bridges which create a magnificent view for visitors. The most recognized rock among these was formed as a result of being carved by the wind and it is called as “Gelin Kayası”, because previously it resembles a bride, but now it has no top section.

Göksu River-16^th of June
Göksu River, which fascinates the people with its beauty, is a touristic zone for many activities. The river has become one of the popular places of Istanbul both to rest in the hotels near the river and spend time. The place is very suitable for the bird watching; there is some kind of birds like nightingales, goldfinches, kingfisher, cormorants, and greenfinches. To avoid from noise pollution and not to scare the living beings, it is used electrical boats in Agva. Men can easily observe the birds with their binoculars.