Silivri, formerly Selymbria (Greek: Σηλυμβρία), is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey.

[1] It lies along the Sea of Marmara, outside the urban core of Istanbul, containing many holiday and weekend homes for residents of the city.

Established in 2008, Turkey's most modern (and Europe's largest) prison complex is located 9 km (5.6 mi) west of Silivri.

In the early 5th century, the town was officially renamed Eudoxiopolis (Greek: Εὐδοξιόπολις), during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Arcadius (377–408), after his wife Aelia Eudoxia, though this name did not survive.

In the late 9th century, Emperor Michael III constructed a fortress on the top of the hill, the ruins of which still remain, during an era in which the Byzantine Empire suffered attacks by Saracen corsairs and Rus raiders.

However, after their disastrous defeat at the hands of Timur the Ottomans returned Selymbria and several other possessions to the Byzantines in 1403.

During the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Selymbria, along with Epibatos, stood up against the Ottoman armies, and surrendered only after the city had fallen.

On the order of Suleiman the Magnificent, architect Mimar Sinan built 1562 a stone bridge with 33 arches just west of Silivri.

Many of these Turkish Jews emigrated to the United States settling primarily in New York and Seattle.

All the facilities are located in the holiday housing area, the town centre of Silivri has little to offer in the way of cinema, theatre or any other cultural amenities.

Now the coast has also been blessed with resort hotels and country clubs with sports facilities including golf courses, horse riding centres and tennis courts, health and conference centers.

The winter months are cold here, as bitter weather blows across Thrace from the Balkans, and holiday homes in Silivri are not much used from mid-September until May or even June.

The district has great agricultural potential thanks to its almost flat landscape, mild Thracian climate and yield-effective soil, and in the 1950s and 1960s the pasture was so rich that the yogurt of Silivri was renowned.