A while ago, a Turkish friend of mine had had the fortune (or the misfortune?) to do his mandatory military service at the Naval Cadet School of the Turkish Navy on the island of Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands about an hour away by ferry from the harbour of Kabatas. While this friend constantly complained about his wasting six-months of his life performing army duties on this island, I joked that at least he got to stay on this famous holiday island for six months, all free-of-charge.
Indeed, many people from Istanbul and other parts of Turkey have to pay to spend their holidays on Heybeliada. Possibly the second most well-known island of the Princes' Islands after the crowded Buyukada, Heybeliada is much less crowded than Buyukada, even on weekends.
On all of the Princes' Islands, motorised traffics are prohibited with the exception of ambulance and fire engines, and people move about on the island either by bicycles, horse-carriages (popular among the tourists), or by foot. As the island of Heybeliada is not that big after all, it is relatively easy to walk around provided the weather is not too hot.
Similar to other islands in the Sea of Marmara, Heybeliada is primarily popular among local Istanbul residents, and the island is also the place where well-off Turks purchase their summer holiday homes and spend their leisure time in one of these pretty houses made of wood and stone. In recent years, the island has gained some degree of international fame amongst overseas visitors, because it has been chose by one of those travel magazines popular among the jet set elites living in Londond and New York as one of the 'in-place' to visit while in Istanbul. As a result, the ferry which leaves Kabatas pier in the morning was packed with foreign tourists from all over the globe. Fortunately many of them were part of the pre-arranged Princes' Islands hopping day-tour, therefore spent barely two hours on Heybeliada.
The Naval Cadet School is located at the very left side of Heybeliada, visible from the sea as the ferries to and from Heybeliada approach the island's landing pier.
In addition to looking at nice vacation homes of rich Turks and hiding away from the scorching July sun, things to do while one is on Heybeliada include visiting the now defunct Greek Seminary located on top of the hill overlooking the sea and the island's harbour area, or going to one of the beaches tucked away at the rear side of the island for a swim. There are countless cafes and fish restaurants lining up all along the waterfront for those looking for some culinary treats. For me, I prefer Heybeliada to Buyukada for the simple reason that Heybeliada is less crowded than its bigger sister island. If you are looking for a place to escape the crazy stress of life in Istanbul but do not have much time or money or both to spare, perhaps you can consider spending a few hours on this island.
In addition to sailings from Kabatas, regular ferries connecting Hebeyliada with the district of Bostanci on the Asian side of the Bosphorus are also available.
Copyrights@2012. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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