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Princess Islands


Yes, I had the very same dream. Planning to go back there on the shoulder of a seagull one day...

I was born and lived on Princess Islands till I came to US for grad school. My parents still live there. The name comes from prince and princesses that were exiled to the islands in Byzantine times. Today, we don't have any royal people on the islands but they are still as graceful as princesses.

Istanbul, Turkey





Let's say we are in Kadikoy port, one of the ports in main land Istanbul.
Now, I'll take you to the islands.




This is the aerial view of the ferry carrying passengers back and forth between
the islands and the main land. It takes an hour from Kadikoy port to Buyukada port
because these ferries usually stop at every other island :( During my high school
and college years, I traveled almost every day between Buyukada and mainland Istanbul
by these ferries. Yes both winter and summer! In winters, the waiting rooms for
passengers in the ports were very cold and I can't say they were the nicest places
to be but traveling on the ferries was fun because they were taking us to our
dear island and there would always be some friends to chat with during the ferry trip
since almost all the local residents of the islands know each other. Whatsmore the
view along the way is so beautiful that despite every trouble it is worth it.




This is a partial map of Buyukada - the largest island among Princess Islands.
Although it is the largest of all other islands, one can walk around the island in 4 hours.
So it is a small island in fact. Local residents walk everywhere.
Well, I was pretty satisfied with this map since as a typical
Turkish girl I am not very interested in maps but Prof. Wolovich
insisted that I should put other maps showing relative position of
my home island. Be patient please, it is only three more maps :)




This is the location of the islands wrt Istanbul.




Now we are zooming out. This is the Turkey map.




Here is Turkey in middle east.




And here is Turkey in world map in case you don't know where it is.




The first stop is Kinaliada. "ada" stands for "island" and "kinali" means reddish.
They called the island such because of the color of its soil. There are 7 or 8 islands.
The largest one being Buyukada. "Buyuk" stands for "large". The second largest island is
Heybeliada, third one is Burgazada and fourth one is Kinaliada. There is also Sedefadasi,
fifth largest island, but the number of families living there is less than my fingers.
The rest of the islands are not open to public. One of them, Yassiada, used to be an exile
place up until very recently. There was a prison there. One of our presidents was sentenced
to death penalty on Yassiada. The ferries going from main land to the islands first stop at
Kinaliada, then Burgazada and HeybeliAda and finally on my homeisland Buyukada.





This is a modern mosque on Kinaliada (as seen from the ferry). The major population of
this island is Armenian. It is a gathering place for Armenian people during summer time.





Second stop is Burgazada. Again "ada" stands for "island". I don't know what Burgaz means.
There is only primary school on Kinaliada and Burgazada. There are no hospitals. Kids
over primary school age has to travel either to Heybeliada or Buyukada to go to school.





There was a huge fire on Burgazada in early winter this year.
The fire station efforts could only save the houses. Whole forest burned down.
I don't enjoy the trips as much as I used to when I see the naked hills of Burgazada.





Hopefully the trees will grow again. My aunt was living on this island.
Till I was 12, Burgazada was the only other place that I knew other than my homeisland
Buyukada. Somehow this islands looked very huge to me when I was a kid. I always wondered
what there was on the other side of the island, or where we would reach if we keep walking.





The next stop is Heybeliada.
This building is main building of the naval academy which is next to the ferry port.
When ferry stopped on this island, the academy students with their white uniforms
would get on the ferry. No need to say that they were all very good-looking but
unfortunately by the age, I was able to travel on the ferries by myself, they were way more younger than me :(




If you turn your head around, you can see the crowded city.
It doesn't seem very far yet the life on two sides of the
water is very different. This is a view of main land from the
island. We have one more stop, our final destination Buyukada.




And of course the seagulls will be accompanying the ferries.
Guests always complain about not sleeping well. I can't think the island without them.
I feel like if I ever reincarnate, I would be a seagull.




Yol kenarlarindaki
yagmur mazgallarini
kumbara sanip
harcligimi atardim
bu yuzden en cok
denizden alacakliyim

Sunay Akin





Port from the ferry.




Besides ferries there are these boats that carry food and other things
to the island. Although not as bad as that of Robinson Cruose's, it is
quite an experience to live on the island. Life on the island is pretty
much restricted to the ferry schedule. In summertime, especially on weekends,
so many people escape to islands that ferries become over-crowded. Then these
boats carry people.




A historical building being used as a hotel after restoration...




....




There is a small old clock tower in "downtown" of the island.




Everybody meets there.




The horse carriages are the only means of transportation.
One absolute thing that one-time visitors of the island cannot
forget is the smell of byproducts of the horses. It is funny, having
grown up on the island, I don't smell it anymore.
You can take one of the carriages to take a full tour of the island or
a short one. But local residents prefer to walk!
Ve gelin alayina bi ada turu attirmak adettendir ayrica.




Maybe you'd like to get some fruits and energize yourself before exploring the island!




Insanin ufuk cizgisinde kaybolasi geliyor.
Vaybe su guzellige bak! Bosuna yazmamislar
adalardan bir yar gelir bizlere sarkisini,
adalarin guzelliginden ilhamlanip. Yalniz lisedeyken
bu sarkiyi hep kizkardesime soylerlerdi. Bana bi soyleyen olmadi henuz.






Everybody know each other on the island.




View of Heybeliada (second biggest island) from Buyukada.




A small chapel. There are five (maybe more, not sure) big churches and a sinagogue on the island.
People in Istanbul used to ask me if I am a christian when I told them
that I was from the islands. Because altough Fatih Sultan Mehmet conquered
Istanbul in 1453 (before it used to be Constantinopoulos in Byzantine Empire),
the population of the islands were mainly the greek people till the midst of
this century. The houses were owned by Greek people. They eventually immigrated
to Greece. Mostly young people. Old people preferred to live rest of their
lives on the islands. The tales that our Greek neigbours used to tell us are
among my best childhood memories.
Today islands are gathering places for Turkish jews.

Adanin tepesindeki kilisede mi yoksa bu kucuk kilise de mi yaktigim dilek
mumlari, hangisi sayesinde kazandim universite sinavini bilemiyorum.
Bi cok dilek diledim. Gerci yalan soylemiyeyim, o kadar da Tanriya havale
etmedim islerimi. Ama bir daha ki gidisimde bi tek dilegim var. Bildim de
egriyi dogruyu, secemedim insanin iyisini kotusunu...
Gerceklesirse konvoya turu amcamin arabasinda attiririz artik.




Once the summer ends and summer people take off,
the islands are left to local residents and cats.

Kardesiyle sokaklarda hep
bir ornek giydirilen sen
nasil sevmezsin esitligi
yururken dusen coraplarini
ayni hizaya getirmek icin
annen degil miydi onunde diz coken

Sunay Akin




....




....




This is the ruins of an orphan house from Byzantine times.
It was a monastery as well.
Waiting to be taken care of...




....




....




Houses on the island.




....




....




Begonvil tree in our garden.




Horse carriages are the only means of transportation on the island.
Vehicles are not allowed. Local residents walk everywhere. Horse carriages
are for outsiders.




A old mansion.




There are five churches on the island. This is the one on top of the steepest hill on the island.
Mentally sick people were being cured in this church in Byzantine times according to rumors...




in the church...




Bu yola baktim baktim neresi oldugunu cikartamadim.
Oysa ne ilginc di mi, insanin kendi evinin yolunu,
yolun sonundaki evini taniyamamasi bi baskasinin objektifinden.




...




Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of Turkish Republic.




SOYLE BANA

Her takvime uc bes omur
bahtimizin bilmecesini bolusturduk
cabuk dusen yapraklara

her sey niye bu kadar cok zaman aliyor ? niye ?
ne cabuk geldik
bu soruyu derin bir ic sizisiyla soracak yasa

olum karsisinda kazanilan bakis derinligi
niye yitirildi yasamda ?

Eski bir fotografa bakiyordum
Bu sorular beni yokladiginda
Fotografta sen de varsin
Bak ve söyle bana







bunca yil,
bunca yol,
bunca hayat ve kitaptan sonra,
butun kelimelerin altini ciziyorum.

artik izin istiyorum.






Mosque on the island.




Houses on the island...




Houses on the island...




A ancient house from Byzantine times...




Closer view to the top piece...




Houses on the island...




Splendid hotel...




Houses on the island...




Houses on the island...




Plum tree blooming in spring...




Houses on the island...




Houses on the island...




Another old house but not restored...




Houses on the island...




Houses on the island...




Houses on the island...




On a rainy day...Yani yataginda kitap okumak isteyecegin bi gunde...




Splendid hotel.




Splendid hotel from a different view




Kind-a-downtown of the island: another street leading to main area.




Kind-a-downtown of the island: ferry port.




Kind-a-downtown of the island: ferry port.




Are you tired? Let's get some fruits!




And if it is early spring, you can grab a bunch of this lovely flower for your loved one. I don't know the English name for this flower. But in Turkish it is called "mimoza".
The mimoza trees bloom only once a year at the very beginning of the spring.
And then one has to wait till next year, to smell mimozas again.
Ya allahaskina arkadaslar, tamam bu adam bizim Bogazicinin kuzey kampusunun
giris kapisinda erik satan, sivil polis oldugunu sandigimiz Police gozluklu
adama benziyor ama ne isi var sivil polisin adada... yapmayin allahaskina.




A lovely ferry waiting for the passengers on a cloudy yet sunny day.




Ferry ticket sales office.
How many times I showed up breathless in front of ticket office
running all the way from home rushing to the ferry? Countless times...




If you didn't rush to the ferry port and still have some time,
you can enjoy the view in the port.




Aklima annemle yaptigimiz Ankara yolculugu geldi.
SIU 99 konferansi icin annemle Ankaraya gitmistik.
Yine boyle uzun yolculuklara cikmak istiyorum adadan.
Donus menzilinin yine adalar oldugu. Hani soyle vapura
trene yetisme derdi olmadan sallana sallana gittigim bi
yolculuk. Hani vapuru kacirsam da bi sey olmayacak bi
yolculuk... Ufuk cizgisine bakip, bunun daha hicbisey
olmadigini, icten ice asil surprizlerin gidecegimiz yerde
oldugunu dusundugum yolculuklar. Asil heyecanlarin yollarda,
yolculuklarda oldugunu henuz bilmedigim gunlerdeki
gibi bi yolculuk...




or you can go upstairs to the cafeteria in the port and
you could watch the ferries docking on the port...





port as the ferry takes off...




Another view of the island from the sea...




And we are going back to city...




As the sun goes down...


Ne yak
Mektubun ucunu,
Ne sevgini
Sayfalar dolusu
Dile getir....

Zarfi kapatirken yalniz,
Kuytu dudaklarini
Cokca degdir.....

Sunay Akin

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Carnegie Mellon University, Robotics Institute
5000 Forbes Av., Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
hulyayalcin@gmail.com