Gebze

Gebze
Gebze
	Town
	Gebze centrum view of the sky
	Gebze Location in Turkey
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Country	Turkey
Region	Marmara
Province	Kocaeli
Government
• Mayor	Adnan Köşker (AKP)
Area
• District	584.45 km2 (225.66 sq mi)
Population (2012)
• Urban	304,283
• District	319,307
• District density	550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Postal code	41400
Website	www.gebze.bel.tr

Gebze (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈɟebze], ancient names: Dakibyza and Libyssa, Λίβυσσα in Ancient greek) is a district in Kocaeli Province, Turkey. It is situated 30 miles east of Istanbul, on the northern shore of the Sea of Marmara. Gebze is the second largest district in Kocaeli after İzmit, the provincial centrum in terms of population. Gebze has experienced rapid growth in recent years, from 159,116 residents in 1990 to 299,047 in 2011.

History

In 183 BCE, Hannibal, the Carthaginian leader generally considered one of the greatest military commanders in history, committed suicide in the ancient port city of Libyssa (present-day Diliskelesi in Gebze) on the Sea of Marmara rather than face capture by the Romans, his greatest enemy.

Geography

The district of Gebze is located in the westernmost portion of Kocaeli Province, with neighbors Tuzla to the west; Pendik, northwest; Şile, north; and Körfez, to the east. The district includes 6 municipalities (Gebze, Darıca, Çayırova, Dilovası, Şekerpınar, and Tavşancıl) and 22 villages (Ahatlı, Balçık, Cumaköy, Çerkeşli, Demirciler, Denizli, Duraklı, Elbizli, Eskihisar, Hatipler, Kadıllı, Kargalı, Köseler, Mollafenari, Muallimköy, Mudarlı, Ovacık, Pelitli, Tavşanlı, Tepecik, Tepemanayır (Tepepanayır), and Yağcılar).

The northern terminus of the proposed Izmit Bay Bridge will fall within this area; the project—having a total length of 4 kilometers (with a 1,688-meter main span)—will bridge the Sea of Marmara from Kababurun to Dilburnu.

Twin towns – Sister cities

Gebze is twinned with:^[3]

Karakol, Kyrgyzstan
Garoowe, Somalia

In November 2014, the Garowe Municipality in northeastern Somalia announced that it was slated to meet with the Gebze Municipality in order to finalize a sister city agreement between Gebze and Garowe.^[3]