Sille

Sille is a historic settlement built on both sides of a deep, narrow valley about 7 kilometres north-west of Konya, and today it is a neighbourhood of the Selçuklu district. The Kültür Portalı presents Sille as a distinctive place, with vernacular architecture, a settlement pattern blending with its natural silhouette, and its vineyards and gardens. The area has been inhabited since the Phrygians and became an important settlement from the Byzantine period onwards. The Seljuks, the Karamanids and the Ottomans also left traces in Sille that survive today. There are different explanations for the origin of the name. Turkish Wikipedia reports views that it comes from Silenos of Greek mythology or from a word meaning water that flows foaming. In a 2018 NTV report, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Çaycı of Necmettin Erbakan University says the name comes from Sylla, meaning water nymphs. Sille lies between the Karabuğa Mountains and Küçük Gevele, in the valley carved by the Sille Stream, at about 1115 metres above sea level. The stream, flowing from north to south, divides the settlement in two, and the houses step up the two slopes of the valley. The stream is an irregular, flood-prone watercourse, so the Sille Dam was built on it between 1953 and 1960 for irrigation and flood control. Poplars and willows grow on the valley floor, while steppe vegetation covers the slopes. The fabric of the settlement is made up of fountains, baths, bridges and traditional stone houses from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. The Kültür Portalı notes that about forty caves carved into the hills in the south of Sille, once used as houses and places of worship, are among its most important historic assets. Sille's building material is its own stone. The volcanic stone known as Sille stone is noted for its resistance to heat and was used in many old buildings in Konya. According to the Kültür Portalı, the walls of the Karatay Madrasa are also built of Sille stone. The Subaşı Bath in the market area is a 19th-century Ottoman building made up of two hot rooms, two warm rooms and a water tank. According to a 2020 study published at Selçuk University, the hot and warm sections are covered by brick domes and the water tank by a barrel vault. According to reports from 2018, the bath was restored by the Selçuklu Municipality and handed over to the Chamber of Architects to be used as an architecture museum. One of the structures worth seeing in the valley is an old aqueduct popularly called the Devil's Bridge. According to TGRT Haber, the structure is dated to the 16th-century Ottoman period on the basis of its materials and building technique. It was built to carry water to the village from one side of the valley to the other and later became a narrow crossing linking the two slopes. Because it is narrow and high, it is not used as a crossing today and should be viewed from a distance. For many centuries Sille was a settlement where different communities lived together. Turkish Wikipedia states that before the Republic the population reached 18,000. With the 1923-1924 population exchange the Greek population left for Greece, and migrants from the Kozani and Florina regions settled in Sille. According to English Wikipedia, most of those who left founded a village called Nea Silata in Chalkidiki. According to 2022 figures the neighbourhood has a population of 1191. Sille is also known for crafts such as weaving, pottery and candle making. Sille carpets, woven with a natural yellow dye obtained from the buckthorn plant, are among the best-known products of the area. Only a few of these looms are still working today. Sille was declared an urban conservation site in 2001 and placed under protection. A good order for a visit is to start from the square on the valley floor and climb up through the streets on both banks of the stream. Looking back from the slope, a wide view opens in which the stone houses, the bridges and the gardens of the valley fit into the same frame. Afternoon light falls on the west-facing side of the valley, and the colour of the stone looks warmer at that time of day. According to the Kültür Portalı, Sille is easily reached by municipal bus, minibus, taxi or private car. Some of the streets are steep and paved with stone, so comfortable shoes are a good idea.