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.
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 tribeofTurkomans 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. It is necessary to assume that Belokome was one of the SerbianorBulgarian settlements settled in this region by Byzantine Empire in the late 12th century and that the name Belokome was pronounced in the Slavic language. (Instead of Bilecik, the Greek name of the region should have taken a form like *Vilegüme/Veligöme in Turkish.)[3][4]
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.[6]
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.
