The Islands of Çanakkale

Gökçeada
Gökçeada is the largest island in Turkey and one that attracts many tourists. Not counting the Princes Islands off the coast of Istanbul, Gökçeada and its sister Bozcaada, are the most touristy of the Turkish islands. In terms of overnight stay tourism these are the leading islands in Turkey. Interest in these islands is constantly increasing with both domestic and foreign tourists.
Two types of tourism are take place here. One is the day trip tourists or those after a short stay. The other type is those that come to the islands from major cities of Turkey and stay the whole summer long. There are also those who stay all summer and winter on the islands but are not considered as tourists. They have mixed well into the mainstream of the island folk

Access to Gökçeada is from the Kabatepe wharf across the peninsula from the town of Eceabat or from Çanakkale by way of a ferry that leaves from the main jetty. The journey to Gökçeada in normal conditions takes about one hour 45 minutes, the distance being 14 miles.
When the ferry approaches Gökçeada the barren hills come into full view and this for the first timers to the island is a somewhat sad feeling. These hills are so barren and there are no trees on them at all. 
However, one needs to be a little patient. Gökçeada is quite prosperous with good water resources, many small lakes, thunderously flowing water fountains and a waterfall as well.

Welcome to Gökçeada from Kuzu Limanı Wharf
If the wind is not blowing from the wrong direction and the sea is not choppy car ferries reach the Gökçeada wharf in one hour 45 minutes, with passengers setting foot on the island along with cars, buses and, depending on the season, trucks used to carry the grape harvest. During the harvest time trucks arrive to load grapes and, later, wine.
Those coming to Gökçeada without a car can catch minibuses to take them to the centre of the island and the town of the same name. This is because the wharf is far from the island's centre in an area with no inhabitation at all. 
When coming to the island from the mainland one sees the eastern narrow face of the island and its large size could be overlooked. When travelling widely around the island one notices how large it is, especially after seeing its vineyards, vegetable and fruit gardens, lakes, and beaches. Gökçeada is 289 square kilometres in area and its winter population is about 10,000. A large portion of its permanent inhabitants live in the central town. The population of the nine villages total around 1,600. During the tourism season the population of the island nears 30,000. Turkey does not have many islands and this one is not really that big. The total length of its coast is 46 miles

Who lives on Gökçeada
Permanent residents of Gökçeada are old islanders, Greeks, those having come from Sürmene in the province of Trabzon on the eastern Black Sea coast, a few from Isparta in the inner Aegean region, immigrants from Bulgaria and former prisoners. The former prisoners form a sizeable percentage of the population. This is because the semi-open prison set up in the 1960s was closed down in 1990. Inmates of this prison used to tend the land, herd livestock and in short were farmers. Some of those who had completed their sentences brought their families here and settled down on the island, which they had become used to. There were even those who married an islander.
The remainder consists of public servants, families of military personnel and people that left the big cities and decided to settle on an island. Off course there was a time when Greeks were a majority on the island. Most they left, initially in the 1920s, and others during the Cyprus conflict in 1974. Currently the Greek population on the island totals just 250 and the majority are elderly. The houses of those Greeks who left the island are all in good condition. During the summer, Greeks from all corners of the world come to Gökçeada and visit their place of birth and adolescence. There are eleven churches and hundreds of monasteries on the island. The Greek Orthodox Metropolite also lives on the island. From the middle of July, the Greek Orthodox islanders undertake one of their religious duties, abstaining from eating meat or dairy products for a period of one month. At the end of this period they offer sacrifices and cook cauldrons of rice which are of course accompanied by the wines of the island. On August 15 every year Gökçeada Greeks from all around the world try to be on the island.
The islanders were not happy with the decision to close down the prison on the island. Many wealthy and influential prisoners used to be sent to the prison and would spend large sums of money while there. Now there is the "Fisheries Maritime Studies College" but the money brought to the island by the students is nowhere near that of the wealthy prisoners. 

Around the island
Seven kilometres from Kuzu Limanı are the official buildings and shopping districts in the town centre. The Central Mosque and the bigger Fatih Mosque are both Ottoman constructions. Of the two churches one is in Yenimahalle and the other in the Fatih district. The road that leads in a northerly direction from the town centre reaches the most lively part of the island. Eski Bademli and Kaleköy line up after each other for us to enjoy. Eski Bademli is under strict protection. The historic laundry, the century old plane tree and the primary school buildings are worth seeing.   
Most of the hotels and restaurants are located in the Aşağı Kaleköy region. This area is very lively and interesting on summer evenings. Here the municipality has a tourism information office as well. Yukarı (upper) Kaleköy, four kilometres away, was set up on the outskirts of the remains of an old castle. It has two portions named Yukarı and Aşağı (lower). From up on the hill there are magnificent panoramic sea views. 

Yıldızköy has very interesting rock formations, the area between Yıldızköy and Yelkenkaya was granted to TÜDAV (the Maritime Research Foundation of Turkey) and declared as an Underwater National Park. It is Turkey's only such national park.
Yenibademli is one of the most crowded villages on the island. It is the village inhabited by fishing families and people from Isparta.
The village of Zeytinli is under strict protection. It is three kilometres from the island's centre and, as its name indicates, it is located among olive trees (zeytin means olive). Passing through narrow streets on a slight slope one can reach the village square. This square is surrounded by cafes and restaurants which are mostly operated by the local Greeks. Some of the houses in this village have been purchased by people from the major Turkish cities and are being restored. 
Here they make a specific dish to the island called "Cullama", which consists of local wines, stinging nettle (Isırgan Otu), fennel and similar herbs. The dish called "Cicirya" is made from goats' cheese mixed with mint and olive oil and baked in the oven.
Tepeköy is also under strict preservation orders. It is the highest settlement on the island. This is also a Greek village. The dirt road that diverts right 100 metres before entering the village leads to the Pınarbaşı picnic reservation. The water of the fountain is just great.
The villages of _ahinkaya and Dereköy are adjacent to each other. _ahinkaya's inhabitants are from the Black Sea region, and earn their livelihood by livestock farming and bee keeping.
Dereköy is one of the old villages of Gökçeada and is under strict protection. During the 1950s and 60s it was a large village with 600 houses. Presently it is to a large degree uninhabited. This village has abundant supplies of water and an old laundry
The Marmaros waterfall can be reached by turning right after Dereköy and, after driving seven kilometres, visitors need to get out of their vehicles and walk a little. It is green all around, it is a most surprising scene compared to the barren landscape one sees on arrival on the island from mainland Turkey. After walking in the forest the waterfall is right in front of you. However, towards the end of summer its water flow decreases. The waterfall drops from a height of 38 metres. The islanders claim that their island has the fourth most abundant water reserves in the world and, after travelling around this island, one could not deny this claim.
The Uğurlu village is close to the coast. Its inhabitants were resettled here from Muğla and Burdur. There is a small lake that hosts many birds located between Dereköy and Uğurlu.
Continuing on from this village along the coast one reaches the Gizli Liman and the furthest west point of Turkey called İnceburun. It has a very long natural sandy beach. There are no settlements here at all.
Şirinköy is a village with its inhabitants being immigrants from Bulgaria. They earn their living by agriculture, livestock farming and letting their houses for use as pensions. The no longer used semi-open prison buildings are also nearby.
The sandy Lazkoyu beach to the north and the small lake is quite beautiful.
Eşelek village is a little inland off the coast. Its coast is the site of the Aydıncık beach, the most popular on the island, with camping facilities along the two kilometre long coast, which is also most suitable for wind surfing. Nearby there are two small lakes. One is a salt lake where a therapeutic mud bath can also be enjoyed by people. To buy fresh fruit and vegetables it is as easy as dropping in at the roadside carts around the island.

Rock tomb
This are the most interesting ancient remains on the island, located in the Kokina region (18 kilometres from the island's centre). It is a double rock tomb thought to be from the Roman era.
Kuzulimanı was the first place we set foot on the island. We saw the villages in the inner parts of the island and then toured all around the island. There are beaches are all around Kuzulimanı. There are also tea gardens around the beach. When returning to Kuzulimanı the Kaşkaval Burnu (headland) or by its other name the Peynir Kayalıkları (rocks) can be seen. The interesting rock formations remind one of blocks of cheese hence the name Peynir. However, this can not be seen from land and it is necessary to take a look from a boat at sea. According to stories going around among the islanders, a stingy woman had lots of cheese which she refused to share with anyone so God transformed her cheese into rocks as way of penalising the mean woman.
Today sheep and goats freely roam around all parts of the island. Sometimes there is not even a shepherd to lead them. Since there is abundant supplies of water there is no problem in this respect either. There is an olive oil producing plant on the island. Ecological farming/agriculture is supported by the authorities on the island.

Fishing and fisheries
Just like in the old days fishing is the main source of income for the islanders. Seafood is sold fresh on the island as well being sent to markets on the mainland. When it comes to the range of fish on the island there are Sargo (karagöz) all year round, Coral (mercan), dentex (a kind of sea bream), grouper, octopus, calamari, prawns, swordfish and mackerel in May, chub mackerel in June, sardines in August, bluefish in September to December and all are always fresh and delicious.

Art on the island
Gökçeada has one cinema and the annual Gökçeada Film Festival is held every August.

Underwater
Gökçeada is most popular with diving enthusiasts. However, since there is no diving centre these enthusiasts have to bring in their equipment themselves. Around Kuzulimanı there are ship wrecks dating back to World War One. Between Mermer Feneri and the mainland there are also some wrecks. It is possible to see grouper fish around Eşek Adası and other underwater creatures near the Karayer Adaları. These areas are most suitable for underwater diving. The leading areas for diving are Mermer Burnu, Tuzburnu, Çanak Limanı, Bakla Taşı and Pınar Dere.

Beaches
In Gökçeada there are numerous locations to enjoy the clean and vast seas. The Aydıncık (Kefalos) coast in the south of the island is considered as the Patara of the Northern Aegean and is also the site of a series of rock tombs. Because the Aydıncık headland acts as an obstruction to harsh winds and does not allow rough waves to develop it is an ideal spot for wind surfers. Therapeutic mud baths in this area are also good for the skin.
The Marmaros beach in the north west is also most suitable for those wishing to enjoy the sea and for picnics. It is only possible to reach Aydıncık and Marmaros by boat. Those unable to get to these locations could utilise the Belediye (Municipality) beach facilities. One of the most beautiful locations to enjoy the sea on Gökçeada is Yıldız Koyu right next to Kaleköy.
It is a privilege for visitors to Gökçeada and the lucky locals to be surrounded with blue flag beaches and coast on this wonderful island. One can embrace the blue of far away coves in quiet surroundings such as Kefalos, Yuvalı, Yıldızköy, Uğurlu, Kuzulimanı, Kaleköy, Güzelcekoy and many others. Or be surrounded by total greenery in Tepeköy or Marmaros under the plane trees. Or else, one can walk the promenade of Kaleköy, see the fishermen's harbour, the seaside rocks that have been created by waves and wind and saying goodbye to Gökçeada while sipping a glass of tea looking at the panoramic views of Semadirek while planning to come again

Turkey's first Underwater National Park
Turkey's first underwater National Park was set up off the waters of Gökçeada thanks to the efforts of TÜDAV. The Gökçeada Park is 200 metres wide and 1.6 wide long and serves the purpose promoting research, protection and education

Island flora and fauna
The jujube tree with fruit similar to oleaster and cornelian cherry grows only on Gökçeada. The soil of Gökçeada is productive and most suitable for various agricultural products. Forests abundant with pine, cedar, hornbeam and other similar trees contribute greatly to the greenery of the island. The olive groves and vineyards scattered throughout the island add a delicious flavour. All underscore the typical specifications of the Mediterranean climate on the island.

Cuisine
The culture of olives and the olive oil is naturally widespread throughout the island. The Greek appetisers that have continued to be popular today have formed a fusion with Turkish dishes as the two cultures teamed up. In the Aegean cuisine you can find the scent of real olive oil and its real taste.