A car-free island
The quiet after Istanbul's noise is the first thing you notice on landing.
My another account (talk) — CC0 · Maurice Flesier — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hamdigumus — CC0 · Hamdigumus — CC0
The largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara southeast of Istanbul, reached by a ferry taking about an hour and a half from the city. The island is entirely free of private cars — and that is the essence of visiting it. Movement is by bicycle, electric cart and on foot, and the quiet after Istanbul's noise is the first thing you notice stepping off the ferry. What distinguishes it visually are the timber houses: large late nineteenth-century villas with verandas and carved ornament, built as summer residences by wealthy Istanbul Greeks, Armenians, Jews and Turks. Many still stand and some are derelict. At the island's summit stands the monastery of St George, reached on foot up a steeply climbing path, with a view from there over the Sea of Marmara and the other islands. This is a full-day trip rather than half: allow three hours on the ferry alone, there and back. The island fills completely on summer weekends — go on a weekday if you can.
The quiet after Istanbul's noise is the first thing you notice on landing.
Late nineteenth-century summer houses built by wealthy Istanbul families of every community.
At the island's summit — a steep climb, but the view earns it.
The largest of the Princes' Islands, Sea of Marmara
By ferry from Kabataş, Eminönü, or Bostancı on the Asian side, about an hour and a half from the city and shorter from Bostancı. Check the timetable and the last return ferry before wandering far on the island — missing it means an unplanned night.
On foot if you want only the centre and the waterfront; by rented bicycle for the full circuit — though the road climbs in parts. Public electric carts run. The traditional horse-drawn carriages were discontinued on animal welfare grounds, so do not expect them.
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