Princes' Islands


The Princes' Islands, officially just Adalar ; alternatively the Princes' Archipelago; is an archipelago of nine islands off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, in the Sea of Marmara. These constitute the municipality and district of Adalar within Istanbul Province. With a total land area of, it is the fifth smallest district in Istanbul and, with a permanent population of 16,690, by far the least populous district in Istanbul.
Adalar District is made up of the main four islands and the other smaller islands.

Etymology

There are several references to the islands in the ancient Greek period, when they went by the name Δημόνησοι, often transliterated as Demonesi or Demonisi. During the Middle Byzantine period the archipelago has been recorded by the 6th century lexicographer Hesychius of Alexandria as Δημόνησοι, meaning "demon's islands" in Medieval Greek. In 1795 German cartographer Franz Ludwig Güssefeld recorded the islands under the name Papadónisi, meaning "priest's islands".
According to Sevan Nişanyan there has not been a historical proper name for the islands in the Turkish language.

History

During the period of the Byzantine Empire, out-of-favor princes and other royalty were exiled on the islands. After 1453, members of the Ottoman sultans' family were exiled there too, hence the island's present name. The Ottoman fleet captured the islands during the siege of Constantinople in 1453.
During the nineteenth century, the islands became a popular resort for Istanbul's wealthy, and Victorian-era cottages and houses are still preserved on the largest of the Princes' Islands. According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82-1893, the kaza of the Princes' Islands had a total population of 7,937, consisting of 5,501 Greeks, 533 Armenians, 254 Muslims, 133 Catholics, 65 Jews, 27 Latins, 7 Protestants, 3 Bulgarians and 1.404 foreign citizens.
The Halki seminary, formally the Theological School of Halki, was founded on 1 October 1844 on the island of Halki, the second-largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara. It was the main school of theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church's Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople until the Turkish parliament enacted a law banning private higher-education institutions in 1971. The theological school is located at the top of the island's Hill of Hope, on the site of the Byzantine-era Monastery of the Holy Trinity. The premises of the school continue to be maintained by the monastery and are used to host conferences. It is possible to visit the island where it is located via boat in approximately one hour from the shore of Istanbul.
In 1912 the islands had a population of 10,250 Greeks and 670 Turks. The islands have become more and more ethnically Turkish in character due to the influx of wealthy Turkish jetsetters, a process which began in the 1920s in the first days of the Turkish Republic when the British Yacht Club on Büyükada was appropriated as Anadolu Kulübü for Turkish parliamentarians to enjoy Istanbul in the summer. The islands are an interesting anomaly because they allow for a very rare, albeit incomplete, insight into a multicultural society in modern Turkey, possibly akin to the multicultural society that once existed during the Ottoman Empire in places such as nearby Istanbul/Constantinople. Prior to the 1950s, each of the inhabited islands had significant communities of ethnic minorities of Turkey, which is now the case to a much smaller extent. Since the vast majority of the residents and visitors are Turkish, today the minority legacy is of cultural rather than demographic importance.

Geography

Princes' Islands are located in the Sea of Marmara, near the coast of southeastern Istanbul. The distance from the Istanbul mainland changes between, the closest being Kınalıada and farthest being Tavşanadası. Excluding Yassıada, Sivriada and Tavşanadası, all of the archipelago is located on a line running from northwest to southeast.
The island chain consists of four larger islands, Büyükada with an area of, Heybeliada with an area of, Burgazada with an area of, Kınalıada with an area of, and five much smaller ones, Sedef Adası with an area of, Yassıada with an area of, Sivriada with an area of, Kaşık Adası with an area of, and Tavşan Adası with an area of.
All islands contain hills, the highest being Büyükada's Aya Yorgi Hill with 203 meters of elevation.

Islands

Büyükada

is the largest of the nine islands comprising the Princes' Islands in the Marmara Sea, close to Istanbul.
As on the other islands, motorized vehicles – except service vehicles – are forbidden, so visitors explore the island by foot; by riding a bicycle ; or in battery powered electric vehicles which function like taxi cabs, also offering "round-the-island" sightseeing tours. Until 2020 there were horse-drawn carriages on the island, but these were phased out due to a serious equine disease.
A convent on Büyükada was the place of exile for the Byzantine empresses Irene, Euphrosyne, Theophano, Zoe and Anna Dalassena. After his deportation from the Soviet Union in February 1929, Leon Trotsky also stayed for four years on Büyükada, his first station in exile. Fahrünissa Şakir was born on the island.
There are several historical buildings on Büyükada, such as the Ayia Yorgi Church and Monastery dating back to the sixth century, the Ayios Dimitrios Church, and the Hamidiye Mosque built by Abdul Hamid II. Büyükada consists of two peaks. The one nearest the iskele, Hristos, is topped by the former Greek Orphanage, a huge wooden building now known as the Prinkipo Environmental Center. In the valley between the two hills sit the church and monastery of Ayios Nikolaos and a former fairground called Luna Park. Visitors can take the 'small tour' of the island by horse-drawn vehicle, leading to this point, from where it is an easy climb to Ayia Yorgi, a tiny church with a café on the grounds serving wine, chips and sausage sandwiches, this being part of the "classic" Ayia Yorgi experience.

Heybeliada

is the second largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara. It is a neighbourhood in the Adalar district of Istanbul. The large Naval Cadet School overlooks the jetty to the left as you get off the ferry. There are two interesting pieces of architecture on the grounds of the school. One is Kamariotissa, the only remaining Byzantine church on the island, and more importantly the last church to be built before the conquest of Constantinople. The other is the grave of the second English Ambassador to be sent to Constantinople by Elizabeth I of England, Edward Barton, who chose to live on Heybeli to escape the bustle of the city.
To the right of the jetty lies the town with its bars and cafes, a hotel that stays open all year round, and many lovely wooden houses.
At the top of the central mountain is an eleventh-century Greek Orthodox monastery, it houses the Halki seminary, the only Greek Orthodox seminary in Turkey and Theological Seminary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate closed by the Turkish Government in 1971, after the ban on private higher-education institutions passed the Parliament. The monastery attracts tourists from all over Greece and Turkey, and despite the Turkish Government's promise to reopen the seminary, it still remains closed.
To prevent the island from becoming polluted, the only motorized vehicles permitted on the island are service vehicles such as ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and the like. The only forms of transport are by foot, horse and buggy and service transport. There is no airport; the only way of getting there is by boat.
The winter population of the island is around 3,000, but in the summer, the owners of the summer houses return and the population swells to 10,000. The main summer attractions are small-scale open-air concerts sponsored by the local council, a swimming and fitness club next to the sea, and an annual Independence Day march, which is commemorated by a resident naval band touring the island.

Burgazada

is the third largest of the Islands, a single hill 2 km across. Demetrius I of Macedon, one of the Diadochi of Alexander the Great, built a fort here and named it after his father Antigonus I Monophthalmus. The island took this name, but today is generally known by the Turks simply as "Burgaz". In 2003 Burgaz suffered a forest fire, losing 4 square kilometres of woodland.
Burgaz is a common setting and even a major theme for writer Sait Faik Abasıyanık, where he also resided. Today, his residence is kept as a museum. At his favourite restaurant in Kalpazankaya one will also find his bronze statue enjoying the view with a glass of rakı freshly filled everyday by the restaurant owners. Until the mid-20th century, Burgazada was predominantly Jewish.

Kınalıada

is the nearest island to the European and Asian side of Istanbul, about to the south. This is one of the least forested islands, and the land has a reddish colour from the iron and copper that has been mined here. This was the island most used as a place of exile in Byzantine times. Also, this island has a historical abbey top of it. From the 19th century to the mid-20th century, Kınalıada was predominantly Armenian, giving it the highest density of Armenians living anywhere in Istanbul, albeit mainly in summer homes. During the summer, approximately 90% of the population on the island was Armenian. The island was also a summer retreat for the Armenian patriarchs of Istanbul.
The islands are reachable by ferry services that depart from Kabataş on the European side. The voyage takes about 25 minutes by fast ferry and 40 minutes by regular ferry.

Sedef Island

, is one of the smallest islands of the archipelago, and has 108 private homes. The section that's open to the general public largely consists of a beach hamlet. The island is mostly private property and the current pine forests were largely planted by its owner Şehsuvar Menemencioğlu, who purchased the island in 1956 and also played an important role in the imposition of a strict building code to make sure that the island's nature and environment will be protected. He has forbidden the building of structures with more than 2 floors.
The island's Greek name, Terebinthos, means "terebinth", which suggests a significant presence of the terebinth in earlier times. In 857 AD Patriarch Ignatios of Constantinople was exiled to the island and imprisoned for 10 years before being re-elected as Patriarch in 867 AD.