Heybeliada
Heybeliada | ||
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View of Heybeliada | ||
Waters | Sea of Marmara | |
Archipelago | Prince Islands | |
Geographical location | 40 ° 52 '40 " N , 29 ° 5' 30" E | |
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length | 1.2 km | |
width | 2.7 km | |
surface | 2.34 km² | |
Highest elevation | Değ Firmen Tepesi 136 m |
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Residents | 5529 2363 inhabitants / km² |
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main place | Heybeli | |
Heybeliada harbor |
Heybeliada ( Greek Χάλκη Chálki , ancient Greek Δημόνησος Dēmónēsos ) is the second largest of the Prince Islands in the Sea of Marmara . Administratively, it belongs to the Adalar district of Istanbul .
Değirm Tepe forms the highest point of the island with 136 m. Other hills are Taş Ocağı Tepe (128 m), Ümit Tepe (85 m) and Makarios Tepe (98 m). Heybeliada has four ports (Bahriye, Mendirek, Değirmenburnu and Çam). The Çam port is the largest port.
history
Heybeliada was a fishing island until the beginning of the 19th century, but with the establishment of schools (first private Ottoman commercial school, Ottoman naval academy) and the prosperous Greek commune, the island experienced an upswing. The Greek Papa Yani became the first mayor in 1887. In 1894, a severe earthquake damaged the island's buildings. The Ottoman Naval Academy (Deniz Lisesi) was commanded from 1917 to 1918 by a German, Lieutenant Captain Kurt Böcking. Böcking's personal staff interpreter was Wolfgang Schrader (1894–1984), Friedrich Schrader's eldest son . A prominent student of the Naval Academy during this period was the poet Nazim Hikmet .
After Turkey was founded in 1923, a sanatorium for tuberculosis sufferers was set up on Heybeliada . The Naval Academy was relocated to Mersin for security reasons during the Second World War and relocated back in 1946. After the Istanbul pogrom against the Greek minority in September 1955, some of the Greek islands emigrated to Greece.
Buildings
The island has some Greek Orthodox buildings. The Terki-Dünya-Monastery from 1868 is located near Çam-Hafen. There is also the Aya-Yorgi-Uçurum-Monastery (Hagios Georgios - Saint George) from 1758 and the Virgin Mary Church, which was built in 1341 by Emperor Johannes V. has been established. At the top of the northern Ümit-Tepe (formerly Papaz-Tepe) is a Greek Orthodox monastery from the 11th century, in which the seminary of Chalki is housed. Until 1971 this was the most important theological college of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople . The school is closed today and attracts tourists from Greece and Turkey . In addition to these Christian buildings, there is also the Bet Yaakov synagogue and the Heybeliada Camii mosque.
The grave of the English ambassador Edward Barton, who was Great Britain's second ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, is located on the property of the Naval Academy. Also on the site is the only surviving Byzantine church called Kamariotissa. Kamariotissa was the last church built before the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The Turkish Navy named the Milgem-Class TCG Heybeliada after the island.
traffic
In order not to pollute Heybeliada's air and environment, motorized vehicles are not allowed on the island. Exceptions are vehicles of the ambulance, police, fire brigade and similar vehicles. Types of transportation around the island are on foot, by bike, or by horse-drawn carriage. Heybeliada does not have an airfield, only a ship harbor.
population
The island's population is around 5600 in winter, but increases to around 10,000 in summer because of the owners of summer apartments. The main attractions in summer are the open-air concerts, a swimming and fitness club by the sea and the annual parade of the navy band on Independence Day.
Personalities
- Aziz Nesin , educator and writer
- Tarzan Toma , athlete and actor of Greek origin
Web links
- Heybeliada on the website of the Istanbul City Council (English)
- Heybeliada island map
- History and monasteries on Halki