Prince's Islands

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Geo: 41.0067, 28.9816

Up first thing this morning for a trip to four islands off the coast of Istanbul. Near to the hotel is a tram stop which serves as a direct route to Trabatas which is the boat terminal. The ferry boats are older and because today is a holiday they are very crowded. We boarded the ferry at 9:30. The first stop was at an island called Kialiada which used to be the summer retreat for the Armenian Bishop and the Armenian community of Istanbul. The next island on the tour is Burguzada which was primarily inhabited by Greek Fishermen. Heybeliada, the next island is primarily a Turkish settlement. It is also home to the Turkish Navy Academy which was established in 1773. Buyukada is the largest island of the group where we got off and did walked through streets lined with expensive villas and vacation rental types operatives. Our time was somewhat limited due to the ferry schedule. Also, because the day is a holiday here, the streets were packed with tourists. We caught a horse drawn carriage for the trip back to the boat. There is no motorized transport on any of these islands with the exception of emergency vehicles. Most transport is by horse with carriages and delivery carts. The islands have about 15,000 permanent residents with 100,000 during the summer months. Although each island began with a unique cultural heritage the modern times have brought about the cultural diversity to all of the islands. The name for the islands "Prince's" Islands comes from the fact that rulers do dynasties during the Byzantine and early Ottoman periods were exiled to these islands when they fell out of favour. Prior to this the islands were known as the islands of the Monks. There are a total of 9 islands located about 20K from Istanbul. Public transit is very reasonable here. The modern tram to the boat cost $1.50. The return trip to the islands was $5.00 each for about 3 hours on the water. Tonight we meet Arlene and Mike for dinner. They arrived in Istanbul today. This is our last day here. Tomorrow we board our return flight to Toronto and the. Vancouver. The boarding passes are printed and the airporter is booked.

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Photos

Heybeliada
Naval Academy

Heybeliada
Naval Academy

Comments

[crw]

Thru your eyes, I enjoyed my virtual tour. Thank you both.