Imbros
Turkey · Asia
About Imbros
Gökçeada, formerly called Imvros, is an Aegean island in Eastern Thrace in Turkey, with a population in 2020 of 10,106. It's near the entrance to the Dardanelles, and is hilly and windswept. It was Greek until 1923, when along with Tenedos / Bozcaada it was assigned to Turkey, making its Cape Avlaka / İnce Burun the westernmost point of Turkey.
Imbros travel guide
Understand
The North Anatolian Fault sunders the Gallipoli (Europe-side) and Troiad (Asia-side) peninsulas of Turkey, and flooded to create the Dardanelles strait. It remains seismically active, with destructive earthquakes every few decades, and frequent minor tremors. Gökçeada is a volcanic island thrown up along this fault line. In legend the sea nearby held the underwater palace of the goddess Thetis, and Poseidon (the Greek god of the sea and "earth-shaker" who unsuccessfully courted her), hobbled his horses down there while he stormed ashore to attack the Trojans. And from the breezy headlands of Gökçeada, you see the white horses of the wind-blown sea, and sometimes feel the rumble of their impatient hooves. Athens beat Troy and grew to be rulers of the Aegean including this island, which they called Ίμβρος, Imvros. It became a Hellenistic settlement (though held for a century by the Persians) and eventually joined the Roman Empire. When that empire broke up, it was initially the city-state of Genoa who held Imvros, and built the fort at Kaleköy. Later Byzantium the eastern capital held it, to be supplanted by the Ottomans. But culturally Imvros like the other Aegean islands remained Greek, with a population of around 8500 by the start of the 20th century. They lived in some half a dozen inland villages, turning their backs on the sea: protection from pirates was one motive, but shelter from the wind was another. The region was then shaken by ethnic tremors within the Ottoman Empire, escalating into the Balkan Wars then the First World War. Turkey sided with Germany and Austria in that war, and in 1915 famously repulsed naval then beach-landing attacks by the Allies on the Gallipoli peninsula - Imvros acted as an Allied staging post. Turkey lost the war and was immediately embroiled in the follow-on Greek-Turkish war, which brought Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to power and created the Turkish Republic. In 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne re-drew the borders between Turkey, Greece
Getting there
Gökçeada has an airstrip but no air service and can only be reached by ferry, usually from Kabatepe. Gestaş Ferry takes 90 min from Kabatepe to Gökçeada, sailing M-F 3 or 4 times and Sa Su twice. The single fare in Jul 2023 is adult 30 TL, car 300 TL plus 10 TL per passenger; all fares are cash only. In summer Gestaş also operates a waterbus for foot passengers from Çanakkale, a one hour crossing. It's more likely to be blown out by bad weather than the car ferry. The schedule and fares for 2023 have not been posted. The island's ferry port is 1 Kuzu Limanı, 4 km east of the main town Merkez. Dolmuşes for Merkez, Yenibademli and Kaleköy meet the ferries. The mainland port Kabatepe is a tiny place on the west coast of the tip of Gallipoli. There may be a direct bus from Istanbul, connecting with the ferries. But normally you have to take a bus heading for Çanakkale, which arrives in Eceabat on the east coast in order to cross the Dardanelles. Get off at Eceabat and take a dolmuş the last 12 km across the peninsula to Kabatepe. If there isn't one running, that suggests no ferry is due any time soon, in which case you'll find Kabatepe very peaceful indeed. By road follow D550/E87/E90 south past Gallipoli, and look for signs for “Kabatepe-Gökçeada Feribot” as you approach Eceabat. The side-road to the port is a well-made modern highway.
Getting around
2 Merkez the main village is the island crossroads and hub of its minibus service. These ply several times a day to the harbour Kuzulimanı 4 km east, and every couple of hours to Yenibademli and Kaleköy 3 km north. There are only one of two a day south to Eşelek and Aydıncık (Kefalos beach), and west to Dereköy and Uğurlu. There is no minibus to Zeytinli or Tepeköy but the Uğurlu minibus drops you at the lane ends. Bike hire is available and in summer you've a good chance of thumbing a lift, but in winter the roads are deserted. Taxis are few and expensive.
See
Merkez is modern low-rise. The name means "town centre" and every conurbation in Turkey has a "Merkez" district. It's also called Çınarlı meaning "place with plane trees" or Gökçeada same as the island itself, but this page sticks to Merkez. The town museum at the foot of İnönü Cd is open W-M 09:00-18:00. Fatih Mosque is along that street, Merkez Mosque is south side on Cami Sk. 1 Bademli means "almonds". It's also known as Eskibademli - Old Bademli - to distinguish it from the modern ticky-tacky Yenibademli. Formerly the Greek village of Γλυκή (Gliki, "sweet") it has great views of the island, the sea, and the Greek island of Samothrace. 2 Kaleköy next to Bademli means "castle village" and was Κάστρον (Kastron) in Greek. Skip the newer part and make for the charming old village (Yukarı Kaleköy) on a hill sloping away from the sea. The Genoan / Ottoman castle is just a few scraps of a citadel. Yıldız Koyu is an attractive cove a little way east, the start of the marine park. 3 Zeytinli means "olives" and is set on slopes covered with groves. In Greek it was Άγιοι Θεόδοροι (Agia Theodori). 4 Tepeköy means "hill village", which in Turkey is about as much help in locating a place as saying it's near an olive grove. Tepeköy faces away from the sea towards the artificial lake; in Greek it was Αγρίδια (Agridia). 5 Dereköy straggling above the road to Uğurlu once had a population of 10,000, but is now a derelict ghost town. Dere means "stream"; in Greek it was Σκινούδι (Skinoudi). Dereköy has one of the biggest laundries in the island and it has the ruins of an old olive oil factory 6 Kefalos Beach or Aydıncık is the main area for windsurfing. A dune separates the sea from a very shallow and muddy salt lake, which like dozens of others in Turkey is called Tuz Gölü meaning, guess what, salt lake. It was used for salt extraction until modern times, and implausible claims made for its therapeutic value. You'll need a good rinse in the sea afterwards.
Do
Swim anywhere on the coast that you can gain access. The main beaches are Yıldız Bay in the north, Kefalos / Aydıncık in the south, and Gizli Liman near Uğurlu in the west, so you should always be able to find a sheltered coast. Beware sea urchins! The Marine Park extends from Yıldız Bay near Kaleköy to Çiftlik Bay. This area is a protected habitat, which you should only explore above or below water with the guidance of a park ranger. There's an underwater trail, with sea grass and the usual Med marine life. As of 2021 the ranger base and facilities are closed, and it's not obvious that the park is getting any protection. Surf: Kefalos / Aydıncık beach on the south coast has a surf shack.
Buy
Merkez has lots of convenience stores. Don't be fooled by the Carrefour supermarket marked on Google Maps; it isn't there. There are Türkiye İş Bankası, Garanti BBWA, Ziraat Bankası, Halkbankası ATMs at the center of the island. Also there are some banka. However, always have extra cash with you on the island, lots of places (including accommodation) only accept cash, and neither ATMs or ferries always work
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.