The Princes Islands, Büyükada - A Day Trip From Istanbul
An hour and a half from our local port of Karakoy lie the Princes Islands of Kinaliada, Heybeliada and Buyukada. After watching Backpacking Banana’s excellent YouTube video and speaking with one of my old friends from work, we decided to make the day trip.
Getting To The Princes Islands
Google, in its infinite wisdom, stated that the ferry was at 9.45am. We sauntered down to the Turyol ferry terminal early so that we could pick up the tickets and grab some breakfast. On arrival, John employed the traditional “confused tourist face” and some wild sign language and succeeded in securing us two tickets, along with hurried instructions to get on a waiting ferry immediately. In a mild state of panic we hurriedly boarded and found that we were, indeed, headed to Adalar, a port on the biggest of the Princes Islands, Buyukada. Google may have lied about the schedule, but the 9.25am ferry we were on, stopped at three of the Princes Islands and was very reasonably priced at 35 Turkish Lira (£1.70 or $2.01) for a single ticket.
On board, the boat was busy but not crowded with wandering tea sellers, entrepreneurs, tourists and Istanbulites out for the day. Having been denied our leisurely breakfast by Google, we grabbed a mystery meat and cheese toastie along with an iced tea and a freshly squeezed orange juice (all prepared on board) from the cafe and headed out to the deck. Despite Ellie’s misgivings about the mystery meat (at one point she did refer to it as looking more suitable for felines than humans) the toastie was tasty, filling and cheap. The whole breakfast cost us 45 Turkish Lira (£2.18 or $2.59).
Outside on deck, we were treated to spectacular waterborne views of Istanbul. Passing under the Galata Bridge we were treated to fantastic views of the Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace and other staples of the Istanbul skyline. The ferry then stopped on the Asian side in the port of Kadikoy to pick up more passengers before heading on to the Princes Islands. Sailing past the seemingly unending city of Istanbul we settled into our seats, grabbed two cups of tea from a passing seller at 5 Turkish Lira each (24p or $0.29) and enjoyed the sun and sea breeze. We stopped off to pick up/drop off passengers at Kinaliada and Heybeilada islands and before we knew it, we had arrived at Adalar port just before 11am.
The Town of Adalar
Adalar shares many similarities to popular UK seaside tourist towns. Crowds of people clearly visiting for the day. Check. Overpriced food right on the seafront. Check. Inflatables, magnets and postcards. Check. There was however one key difference to your average day at the UK seaside, it was sunny and hot and we mean really hot! We had been on shore for only 5 minutes and we were already roasting. So, newly basted in suncream, we headed off into town.
Getting Around The Island
We originally planned to hire bikes and to cycle round the island (there are no cars on the island really, only a plethora of electric vehicles and weird tricycles), but after checking various stalls and seeing that the prices appeared to be standard across all of them, we decided against it. Most stalls were offering bikes for 50 Turkish Lira an hour (each) and as we would need to hire two bikes and wanted to spend 5 or 6 hours going about the island we decided this method of transport was not friendly enough to our backpacker budget. Therefore it was just us and our pasty legs to get us around. This decision was reinforced later by the sheer amount of flat tyres, rusted chains and squealing brakes we encountered from the cyclists around the island.
So off we went, in the near midday sun heading clockwise to circumnavigate the island by foot. The initial walk through and out of the town was full of pretty buildings with cascading purple flowers, lots of restaurants and places to hire sun loungers. There were also places to swim but generally they were ticketed and were part of resorts or private clubs. Passing by the increasingly impressive mansions we wandered onwards. As we progressed the housing became sparser, the road started to undulate up and down (mostly up) and the smell changed from that of the urban seaside to salt breeze and pine needles.
The walk down the Eastern side of the island was punctuated with fantastic sea views, all from on high, as well as steep rising forests looking in towards the islands Centre. The dramatic views were occasionally interrupted with comic relief in the form of groups of people (usually teenagers), struggling to push themselves and their bicycles up the steep hills. These were sweaty, sweaty climbs for us on foot, let alone attempting to coerce an ancient bicycle up the road with little to no shade in the midday sun. Some of these hardy troopers would pass us on the down hill straights only to be overtaken by us once more when the road turned upwards. We encountered one especially sweaty man who had obviously decided to take his paramore out for a romantic day on the island and had hired an electric bike complete with a basket of flowers for the occasion. It looked like it had started well. We saw them first just outside of town whooshing along and cuddling whilst looking down on us pedestrian plebs from their position of electric superiority (please note they were definitely not doing this, we were just super jealous at this point). However, as the Eastern side bore on we would frequently encounter the couple in increasingly dishevelled states as the bicycles battery had now run dry. Initially we would see them at the top of steep rises but then it was halfway up, a third of the way up and then finally, looking up from the base of an incline with a mixture of desperation, fear and dread.
As we rounded the bottom of the Island, we were greeted with the island's Instagram spot. A 180 degree view with the Sea of Marmara blue and glistening beneath us. Stopping to take some photos (and realising we were only a half the way round the island) we continued on. Far below us were developed beaches with seemingly no road access. These beaches appeared to be used by boat tours and looked like a lovely way to spend the day if what you wanted to do was to sit on a boat then sit on a beach. There were also occasional cafes with beach access dotted along the road. These cafes came with steep staired access to the beaches below, but after checking some out, none tempted us in with their food offerings so we continued on.
Moving up the West of the island the road turned inwards towards the Centre. This is where we met the hardest man on Buyukada. We were sweating profusely and struggling with the heat and the hills, but this stone cold lunatic was doing the same route as us (but anti-clockwise) with his babies in tow. That in itself is admirable, but not remarkable. The remarkable part was what the babies were being conveyed in. I’m not an expert on prams, but this looked like a combination of a monster truck, a tank and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Hummer. This strongman stopped us for directions, and with broken English and the help of Google maps, he was smilingly on his way pushing what was probably a tonne of infant transportation before him.
In the Centre of the island was where we had provisionally ear-marked for lunch. When we got there however, it became clear that Luna Park was the destination for families (to be fair it’s kinda obvious now looking back). To one side there was a huge children’s playground and to the other a sprawling picnic area. We decided to get some iced coffees whilst we sussed out the menu situation. When the two cans were presented to us (Ellie may have forced the waiter into some impromptu juggling after dropping her can) we saw that these were more than double the price we had paid for breakfast on the ferry. This combined with a lack of a sproglet, meant that we drank up and moved on, our bellies still rumbling.
The Greek Orphanage
After walking for 5 minutes in exactly the wrong direction (thank you John, King of navigation), we set off on the trail back towards town via the ruins of the Greek Orphanage. After a steep climb, a massive dilapidated wooden building came into view. Now part hidden behind fences, this humongous grand wooden building (it previously had been a hotel before turning into an orphanage) was quietly crumbling to splinters. Me and Ellie both really love a good ruin, and this one did not disappoint. Constructed entirely of wood, it is still, according to Wikipedia, the largest wooden building in Europe. In its heyday it had 206 rooms including a library and a ballroom. Nowadays caved in roofs and gaps in the walls are visible from the road. However, a brief detour around the side allows you a view over the fences. From the side view you can clearly see the ruined, but still grand interior, high ceilings supported by columns stretching off into the unexplorable darkness. Wooden ruins don’t have the same presence as modern industrial abandonment or ancient stone ruins, but do have a more precious, transient air about them. You could see this one now in front of you slowly disintegrating back towards the forest floor, but you had the feeling that in a hundred years the ruin left may be invisible, with possibly just the foundations and nothing more. There is talk of renovation (or at least what we thought the signs said this) but (again according to Wikipedia) the costs involved would be very high. We would definitely recommend seeking this out if you’re geeky like us and love a good ruin.
Lunch and Heading Back to Istanbul
Onwards, we pressed back downhill (thank goodness) towards the town of Adalar and hopefully, lunch. Passing by many cats and pretty white houses we re-entered the throng of the town. Adalar had been relatively quiet when we left, but was now teaming with people. We visited Istanbul during Eid al-Adhar and due to the week off, there were many Istanbulites and Turkish people visiting. After viewing about a hundred and one different burger joints (all seeming to sell the same burgers) we opted for traditional Turkish fare.
Our “Traditional” Turkish lunch
So we sat down with our Mexican tacos and a cold Efes beer, clinked our bottles and congratulated each other for making it round the whole island. We think it was approximately 11km/6.8 miles but we’re not entirely sure as we wiggled around and Google was not playing ball. After refreshing ourselves we brought return tickets and hopped on the ferry back home.
Tips and Tricks for Visiting the Princes Islands
The Princes Islands make an excellent day out from the bustling city of Istanbul. We would highly recommend leaving earlier in the morning to avoid, or at least minimise crowds. We also read online that weekends are best avoided if possible. We would also suggest packing a picnic for yourself as although the tacos were tasty, we were not overly inspired by the island's choice of food (although we obviously didn’t eat or see everywhere). We visited the biggest island, but next time would probably venture to one or two of the smaller islands. We know that island hopping is definitely possible. From what we could see from the ferry, all the islands had similar amazing views, beaches to swim in and walking trails. All in all, for the cost of 70 Turkish Lira each to get there and back, it was a fantastic, forested, sea-breezed filled escape.
Thanks for reading
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
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