Trilye
Trilye

Trilye

Triyle has a past which is full of question marks. It is almost inevitable to encounter with countless stories for a person who strives to find out what happened in the past in the depths of the Triyle history besides the exact dates which are rarely found out. This ambiquity may stem from the fact that there has been no archelogical research conducted there partially. However, countless rumors are circulated about its history which came to light while plowing the olive grove or hoeing the land and it is believed that Triyle was a region where Greeks lived as a Byzantium town from the date of its foundation to its conquer by Ottomans. There is not any source about its transfer about its habitation. According to the some rumors there were Turks living there before the Greek settlement, actually the structure used as Fatih Mosque presently was a mosque before its transformation into a church.
Triyle and its surrounding which gains importance starting the early period of Christianity preserves its liveliness for long time in the churches founded there. The region is important for Greek and Orthodox Christendom and especially it gains more importance after the settlement of three outcast priests (Aya Yorgi, Aya Sorti, Aya Yani) as a consequence of the dispute during the İznik Consul in 396. Priests, who settle there with their diciples, are followed by people who came there for educational aims and this number increased at a fast pace. There was need for the new church and monastery with the increase in population. It is accepted that the churches in Trilye played a significant role in the history of Byzantium art besides their religious their functions. There are 7 churches, 3 monasteries and 3 holy springs of orthodox Greeks (Holy Spring or fountain) remaining from Greeks. “Kemerli Church” which is accepted as a church, whose walls had the first fresco among churches, is located in Trilye. Artistic activities were organized in the church in Greek period and it is named as dining hall now. It is said that it had the most beautiful stage in Bursa and its surrounding in the past. In addition, a school whose construction is completed in 1907 and used till 1988 and bathroom which was constructed by Turks settled there in the period of Yavuz Sultan Selim survived as the important historical artifact of Trilye. Greek and Turk houses, which are the charachteristic of the city, draw attention as the examples of civil architecture.