Rob's Roman Holiday: The Adalar

Today was magic.

I took a ferry out to Bergazadasi, one of the so-called Prince’s Islands, or locally known as simply the Adalar. Anyway, these are small islands an hour’s ferry ride from downtown Istanbul, and genuinely seem to be another world altogether. They are popular destinations for tourists and locals alike, so I chose one of the less popular ones for a visit.

Bergazadasi is a smaller island that is much less heavily populated than its brothers and sisters. It’s main “town” is a cluster of residential houses, cafes and essential services near the ferry dock. Like all the Adalar, this island is interesting because private motor vehicles are banned. The only cars and trucks are operated by the local government, or the services. The whole island is entirely walkable, but general transport is provided by horse and buggy taxis, hand carts and bicycles.

The attraction for me, however, was the walk that was visible on Google Earh… there seemed to be track leading from the top of the village to a bluff looking south over the Sea of Marmara. To make it better, there appeared to be a monastery up there, too, but no-one could tell me if it was occupied or not. That was good enough for me.

Well, the walk was idyllic and I had the track to myself. It was hardly a strenuous climb and although the views are spectacular I was never more than half an hour’s walk away from town. But, that’s all okay, because this has to be the best value walk per kilometer I have ever taken. I hope the photos can tell the story.

The air, the smells, the sounds and the sights made this humble walk a highlight of this trip.

To finish the afternoon off, I visited the studio of an artist I have briefly chatted to once or twice. Her space was a riot of colours from works completed and in progress, in an old apartment and shop just down the street from the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. It serves as a gallery and studio for her entire family. She's (justifiably) paranoid about people taking pictures in her shop, but I was able to take a snap of the stairs leading up from the main street. It tells a story of the place, even without any paintings or drawings in sight.

A fishing flotilla on the ferry ride out.

Today's ship identification exercise... it looks like an oiler to me, but that's the extent of my knowledge.

These gulls followed the ferry the whole way.

A small fishing pier near the ferry dock. Note the clarity of the water

The track that leads up from the town. You'd miss it if you weren't specifically looking for it.

I was lucky enough to spend an undisturbed hour in this spot, in the shade of the tree on the left, eating my lunch and taking photos. There was no sound except the breeze in the pines, the gulls and the occasional motorboat. The air carried the scent of wildflowers, salt spray and not much else.