Eight islands within an hour of Istanbul, in the Maramara Sea were once a place of exile. Jews and Orthodox Armenians escaped here. The sultans produced many heirs from their harams of wives and this led to power struggles amongst the male heirs who may have been strangled or sent to exile on one of these islands. The largest of these was our destination today. Was my father sending me into exile after he had spent hours waiting at the wrong airport the night before? We had told him prior to coming and on Friday that the hotel would be picking us up from Attaturk Airport but as he had dropped us off at the other airport, he assumed that we would be returning to there and waited for us from 6.30 to 10.00 pm before texting me to discover I was already in my bed at the hotel. His ominous message, "we'll talk tomorrow ok" made me wonder if I was going to be left in exile. However, a short discussion on the ferry over ended quickly when my father pulled out my email to show me I was wrong and read the words "the hotel will be picking us up"! This was going to be a pleasant day's outing after all.
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| "Where's my lunch?" |
While stolling through the streets of Buyukada (the largest island), you get the feeling that time has stood still here. There are no motorised vehicles on the streets - bicycles and horse-drawn carriages only. Magnificent wooden mansions line the streets. Some have been well maintained while others are literally tumbling down from neglect.
We took a horse-drawn carriage around the island, strolled through the streets and along the shore enjoying the tranquility in comparison to the bustle of downtown Istanbul.
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