The Big Island

The Prince's Islands made an appearance in the views posted previously.  Today, I visited the largest of the islands, called Buyukada or Big Island in Turkish.

A popular retreat for wealthy Ottomans and foreigners alike in the late 19th and early 20th century, the islands now attract many day-trippers.  As you can see from these two neighboring structures, efforts to preserve the homes built in the island's former glory days have been inconsistent at best.

The island is shaped by two large hills.  On the top of the northern, smaller hill is the old Greek Orphanage.  I was not disappointed in my expectations of creepiness.  It is apparently the largest wooden building remaining in all of Europe.  Since the founding of the Republic, the Turkish state has found numerous excuses to confiscate the property holdings of minority religious organizations.  This orphanage was one such property.  However, like many other buildings confiscated from minorities, instead of using or selling the property, the government allowed it to fall into almost irreversible state of disrepair. 

About a year ago, the European Court of Human Rights demanded that the Turkish government transfer the orphanage back to the Greek Patriarchate.  However, it seems that this ruling has yet to have any real affects upon the state of the property.  A caretaker living in a shack seems to be using the surrounding grounds to graze sheep and raise chickens.  A sign on the front gate warned of a guard dog, but I found him asleep at the switch (he is the black lump in the second picture).

At the top of the southern, larger hill is the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. George.  The monastery is a place of pilgrimage for both Orthodox Christians and Turkish Muslims.  Thousands of people of both religions gather around the monastery's tiny chapel on St. George's feast day, April 23.  They kiss the silver plated icons, request the saint's intervention and thank him for fulfilled requests.  Part of the pilgrimage includes unraveling a spool of thread from the base of the hill to the door of the chapel.  The faster his or thread runs out, the faster the pilgrim's prayer is supposed to come true.  Once at the peak of the hill, the pilgrim also ties a piece of cloth to one of the surrounding trees, as seen in the second picture above.  Unfortunately, I have been unable to determine the purpose behind this second practices.  It may be similar to the stones on the pillars at the tomb of the Alevi saint- when the cloth disappears, a request will be answered.