Day trip to an island

in GEMS ā€¢ 3 years ago (edited)

Hello hivers šŸ„°

I would like to share one of my favorite areas in my city. I donā€™t know how many of you have been in Istanbul but Istanbul has 4 islands and they are called ā€œPrincesā€™ Islandsā€. They are very close to the city center and just 20 minutes away with a ferry.

img_6383.jpg

img_6380.webp

The name comes from Byzantine period where the islands were used as a place to exile princes and royalty. That tradition continued during ottoman era as well. During 18th century those islands became the hub for wealthy people as they started to build huge summer mansions.

img_6381.jpg

img_6382.jpg

What fascinates me is those islands have very diverse population as many greeks, jews and armenians are still living there. Islands also have many historical sites besides gorgeous mansions. You can see many greek or armenian orthodox churches, greek schools and many other architecture reflecting christianity.

img_6386.png

img_6385.jpg

img_6384.jpg

The biggest island is called ā€œBĆ¼yĆ¼kadaā€ which literally means big island in Turkish. The most populer site in BĆ¼yĆ¼kada is the ā€œHagia Yorgi Churchā€ placed on the highest point of island with a magical view. It is not easy to climb those hills though. It would be wiser to avoid during hot summer days šŸ˜… another attraction to see can be the historical Greek Orphanage. It may seem a bit creepy but believe me its a unique site to see.
img_6390.jpg

img_6389.jpg

Second biggest island is Heybeliada. This island has been used as a ā€œquarantine islandā€ in 16th century during the plague. With this history in mind, during 1920s a Sanatorium has been built for turberculosis patients in this island. Other than that, you can visit Hagia Nicola Greek Orthodox church here.

img_6391.jpg

Third biggest island is Burgazada which is my favourite. Besides the gorgeous churches and nature, there is an amazing restaurant here with a view where you can have your sea food with a great selection of drinks- highly recommended. The restaurant is called ā€œKalpazankaya Restaurantā€.

img_6388.png

img_6387.png

Finally the smallest island called Kınalıada which has the highest Armenian population. You can see Armanian churches and architecture here. This one also the closest one to the city center.

I would definitely recommend visiting all of them - BĆ¼yĆ¼kada deserves 2 days for all its attractions. Other ones can be visited in 1.5 days each.

If you will be visiting Istanbul for a longer period of time you should definitely come see this historical and natural beauty. Also the weather is an important factor you donā€™t wanna have a heat stroke while climbing a hill to see a church. September-October or April- May would be wiser. Also it would be good to check ferry hours before leaving to avoid getting stuck there. You can also choose to stay in the islandsā€™ hotels as well šŸ˜¬šŸ˜Œ

One thing I am sure is youā€™ll definitely enjoy it!

Sort: Ā 

Congratulations @lunathescotish! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s):

You received more than 100 upvotes.
Your next target is to reach 200 upvotes.

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Check out the last post from @hivebuzz:

Feedback from the March 1st Hive Power Up Day
Our Hive Power Delegations to the February PUM Winners
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!