Buyukada: The Biggest of Prince Islands.
Buyukada is the biggest of the Prince Islands and it has everything you need. Sea, seagulls, restaurants, colourful flowers, beautiful houses... However, it gets very crowded on weekends, if the weather is fine, and at spring and summer. Here is a quick tip. If you want to get away from the crowd, go leftwards or upwards after you set foot in the island.
There is no motor transportation (except offical ones) at the island. You have three choices: Coaches, bicycles and your feet. I don't like how they treat the horses, so I avoid the coaches; they are unneccesarily expensive, anyway. Bicycles are cheaper and faster. Walking lets you to enjoy the views at most.
Sights at Buyukada
Almost everything is worth to see at Buyukada. The street decorated with trees and flowers, lovely cats and birds, cosy restaurtants, tasteful dishes, comfortable hotels, the sunset and the sunrise... The oldest findings concerning the island are the coins of Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great. The 207 coin collection can now be seen at Istanbul Archaelogical Museum. The population of the island began to change after 1930's, many non-Muslims have moved, but their pozitive influences can still be traced.
Buyukada Port: It was built in 1914 by the architect Mihran Azaryan. The tiles were made by Kutahyali Mehmet Emin Efendi. The building as the representative of Neo-Classic era was restorated in 1999-2001.
Agia Yorgi Church and Monastery: This requires a hard walk up to the hill, so I offer you to choose a temperate weathers, leave your baggages to your hotel and take a couple of bottle water with you. The first building here dates back to 6th century. There are remains of many churches and monasteries, but todays most of them are gone. The new church dates was built in 1905 and put into service in 1909. There is also a cafe near the church.
Hamidiye Mosque: It was built by the order of Abdulhamit II and was opened to worship in 1895. It is actually an elegant mosque. It has a single minaret and twin stairs. It was originally planned to be a school, but after a change of plans, was decided to be used as a small mosque.
The other religious buildings at Buyukada are Panayia Church, Ayios Demetrios Church, Hased Le Avraam Synagogue, Ayios Nikalaos Monastary, Surp Astvazazin Verapohum Armenian Church and Hristos Monastary.
The Greek Orphanage: This was originally built by a French company as a hotel in 1898-1899. But the hotel cannot operate and a Greek woman buys it. Then, the Greek orphanage at Yedikule is transferred here. (Later, it was transferred to Heybeliada, but it was closed in 1960's.) The building is claimed to be biggest wooden house in the world. Unfortunately it is idle and decaying now.
The house of Lev Trotsky: This house is at Nizam Neigbourhood. Trotsky had lived here between 1929-1933, after he was exiled by Stalin.
The house Resat Nuri Guntekin: This house is at Maden Neighbourhood. Resat Nuri Guntekin is one of the most famous Turkish writers, so the house is one of most visited parts of the island.
The beaches: Yorukali Beach is the only sand beach at Buyukada. The other beaches are cobblestoned and maybe deep. These beaches are Eskibag Beach, Halik Koyu Beach, Prenses Koyu Beach, Naki Bey Beach, Aya Nikola Beach.
Where to stay at Buyukada
Buyukada has a wide variety of hotels and apartments. I stayed at three different hotels and I found all very cosy. But my personal favourite is the one at the top of the island, a restorated mansion with a nice view and a rich breakfast (Club Mavi Ada). You can try any hotel near the port or on side streets.
How to get to Buyukada
It is very easy to get to Buyukada and there is frequent transportation that is only cancelled at times of heavy storms. You can prefer steam boats, motor boats and seabusses of different companies. Motor boats from Bostancı arrive at 25-30 minutes. From Kartal, it is 30 minutes. From Kabatas, steamboats take you in 1,5 hour, while steam boats take you in 40 minutes (with more expensively, of course.)
