Heybeliada

Heybeliada is the greenest island of the Prince Islands of Istanbul. Its old name is Halki, which means copper in Greek. It has four hills, the highest of which is close to 140 meters. Heybeli is the second island with the most crowded summer and winter population and the most frequent traffic. When you get off the pier, on the left are the Naval High School and buildings connected to it. You can pass between these buildings and reach the Sanatorium, which is currently inactive, at the back, on the Çam Limanı side.

There are two interesting historical artifacts on the land owned by the Naval Forces; The first is the last and only Byzantine Church on the Islands, Kamariotissa, built before the conquest of Heybeliada. It is believed that the last Empress Maria Komnena had the church built. Apart from the Hagia Maria in Fener, this is the only church built according to the four-leaf clover model in Istanbul. On this shore is the Aya Yorgi (Ayios Yeorgios) Monastery, and at the western end of Çam Limanı is the Tarik-i Dünya Monastery.

The second interesting relic is the tombstone of Edward Barton, the ambassador of Queen Elizabeth I of England. It bears a Latin inscription – with spelling mistakes – and Barton’s family coat of arms.

Burgazada

Burgaz Island, Greek name Αντιγόνη (Antigoni); The third largest of the Istanbul (Prince) Islands. It is round in shape and is about 2 kilometers wide. The only hill on the island is Bayrak Tepe. The island is covered with a red pine forest (part of which burned in 2003).

Antigone, the father of Demetrios, the general of Alexander the Great, had a large castle built here. The island was first named after him, then it was named Burgaz (Pyrgos), which means castle/bastion in Greek. It is said that Methodius, one of the most respected patriarchs of the Orthodox church, was imprisoned in a cellar on the island by iconoclasts for seven years. Today, the Church of Ayios Ioannis is located on this cellar. According to Evliya Çelebi’s writings in the 17th century, the islanders were Greeks and a very small number of Jews and Armenians.

Büyükada

The Büyükada Hoard, which was found near the Greek Orthodox cemetery in Karacabey in 1930 and contains gold coins belonging to Alexander the Great’s father, King Philip II of Macedonia, is the oldest finding in the history of the island. The hoard, consisting of 207 gold coins in total, is currently in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. Like the other Princes’ Islands, Büyükada was used as a place of exile during the Byzantine period.

The islands were taken by Fatih Sultan Mehmet one month before the Conquest of Istanbul. After losing its Greek population after World War I and the Republic, the liveliness of Büyükada largely disappeared until the 1930s. However, towards the 1940s, it regained its status as a summer resort popular with the state dignitaries, high bureaucracy and wealthy segments of the Republic. During this period, Büyükada was decorated with new mansions, meticulous and tasteful structures and became one of the daily places for the people of Istanbul.

Yörük Ali and Nizam Beaches on both sides of Dil Burnu, which rises perpendicularly from the North to South direction of the island, Luna Park, Aşıklar, Viranbağ country casinos, groves, one of which is a big tour starting from the pier and going around the entire island, the other is a small tour starting from Araba Meydanı and going from Dil, Aşıklar Country Casino to Lunapark and then to Maden and returning to the point where you got on, car tours, and trips with decorated donkeys in Luna Park square have become the main entertainments of Büyükada trips.