Burgazada

Burgazada, or Burgaz Adası (Burgaz for short), is the third largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, Turkey. It is officially a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Adalar, Istanbul Province, Turkey.[1] Its population is 1,655 (2022).[2] In the past, it was called Antigoni (Greek: Αντιγόνη) after Antigonus I Monophthalmus, the father of Demetrius I of Macedon, one of the Diadochi (Successors) of Alexander the Great, who built a fort (Greek: Pyrgos for fort/tower) here. The name Burgas is thought to be derived from Pyrgos.

Burgazada
Neighbourhood
Ferry port of Burgazada
Ferry port of Burgazada
Burgazada is located in Turkey
Burgazada
Burgazada
Location in Turkey
Burgazada is located in Istanbul
Burgazada
Burgazada
Burgazada (Istanbul)
Coordinates: 40.8799°N 29.0618°E / 40.8799; 29.0618
CountryTurkey
ProvinceIstanbul
DistrictAdalar
Population
 (2022)
1,655
Time zoneTRT (UTC+3)
Burgazada seen from Heybeliada
A classic house in Burgazada

The island covers an area of 1.5 mi² and is dominated by a single hill, Bayraktepe (Flag Hill, 170m/558ft), also known as Hristos Tepesi (Christ Hill). In 2003, a terrible fire decimated most of its woodland. Visible just offshore is tiny uninhabited Kaşıkadası (Spoon Island). There are great views back towards the mainland from the remote Kalpazankaya ("Counterfeiter's Rock" in Turkish).[3]

Historically, the island was mainly inhabited Greeks and in the 20th century many Jews from Istanbul settled here. However, with the dwindling of Turkey's minorities, the make-up of the local population is now virtually indistinguishable from the rest of Istanbul.

Şehir Hatları ferries connect the island with the mainland from terminals at Eminönü and Kabataş on the European side of Istanbul and from Kadıköy and Bostancı on the Asian side. Most of the ferries call at Burgaz after Kınalıada and before Heybeliada and Büyükada.

Attractions

The island was home to short-story writer Sait Faik Abasıyanık whose house, originally called Spanudis Mansion, is sometimes open to visitors. Many of Sait Faik's stories are set on Burgazada.[4]

The Church of Iohannes Prodromos (John the Baptist), built in 1899, dominates the small town on the island. It was extensively restored after the Marmara Earthquake of 1999. The site was originally occupied by a Byzantine church which became a prison for St Methodius the Confessor, who was exiled here for his opposition to iconoclasm but eventually went on to become the Greek patriarch.[5]

The Monastery of Hagios Georgios Garipi was largely built in 1897 and had to be extensively restored after the 1999 Marmara Earthquake. In 1917 it served as a refuge for some of the White Russians fleeing the Russian Revolution. There has been a monastery on the site since at least the 17th century.

On the top of Bayraktepe stands the Monastery of the Transfiguration, dating back to Byzantine time and standing on the site of an Ancient Greek temple. The current building is mainly a work of the 19th century.

The Burgazada Sanitorium, founded in 1928, is one of the oldest sanitoria in the country. The site has been unoccupied for quite a time and recently been transformed to a restaurant.

Notable residents

References
  1. Mahalle, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  2. "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports" (XLS). TÜİK. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  3. Yönetimi, Web. "Burgazada - Kalpazankaya - Adalar Turizm Geliştirme Merkezi - Prens Adaları - İstanbul Adaları". www.adalarturizm.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  4. Abasıyanık, Sait Faik (2014). A Useless Man: Selected Stories (1st ed.). New York: Archipelago Books. ISBN 9780914671077.
  5. Freely, John (2007). The Princes' Islands (1st ed.). Istanbul: Adalı Yayınları. pp. 34–45. ISBN 9759119005.
  6. Balta, Evangelia; Ayșe Kavak (2018-02-28). "Publisher of the newspaper Konstantinoupolis for half a century. Following the trail of Dimitris Nikolaidis in the Ottoman archives". In Sagaster, Börte; Theoharis Stavrides; Birgitt Hoffmann (eds.). Press and Mass Communication in the Middle East: Festschrift for Martin Strohmeier (PDF). University of Bamberg Press. pp. 33-. ISBN 9783863095277. - Volume 12 of Bamberger Orientstudien - Hosted at Kooperativer Bibliotheksverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (KOBV) // Cited: p. 37.
  7. Balta, Evangelia; Ayșe Kavak (2018-02-28). "Publisher of the newspaper Konstantinoupolis for half a century. Following the trail of Dimitris Nikolaidis in the Ottoman archives". In Sagaster, Börte; Theoharis Stavrides; Birgitt Hoffmann (eds.). Press and Mass Communication in the Middle East: Festschrift for Martin Strohmeier (PDF). University of Bamberg Press. pp. 33-. ISBN 9783863095277. - Volume 12 of Bamberger Orientstudien - Hosted at Kooperativer Bibliotheksverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (KOBV) // Cited: p. 39.
  • Burgazada at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality website


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