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Bozcaada >>
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Feature Article
Bozcaada
 Bozcaada, former Tenedos and one of the two beautiful islands of Aegean Sea, is a very special vacation place with its marvelous sea, fresh air, historical structure, vineyards and exquisite wine.
“God created Bozcaada for those who visited there, to have a long life.” was famous Greek historian Herodot's saying. Islanders memorize it and this sentence is the most frequently heard quote during your stay and when you leave Bozcaada you indeed agree with Herodot's praises to Bozcaada.
As the ferry draws closer you realize it is a very pretty island. The Bozcaada Fort was rising in front of us with its all radiance. The people who welcome you are the representatives of the motels and pensions waiting for customers on the quay carrying banners.
Above all some of them draw near you and ask whether you have a place to stay while handling their cards. It is not a bad method. However you are not going to need them since I've made a real hard survey.
In order to stay there you first should make a choice between hotel, motel, apart-hotel, pension and “Vacation Farm”. Holiday Village concept has become Holiday Farm in Bozcaada in conformity with the nature. Let's first begin with them. We went to Kiraz Tatil Çiftliği (Cherry Vacation Farm) located at Tuzburnu Koyu (Tuzburnu Cove) following our friends' advises. Later we learned that this farm is more expensive than other hotels; bed & breakfast is 50.000.000 TL/two person/night (of course it is subject to bargain.)
Kiraz Tatil Çiftliği, once a camping site is composed of bungalows. They are very cozy, however the rooms are small and too warm. I once more realized the importance of management while staying here. The farm has a very big garden, which is dig for swimming pool, but left as is. The cove is open to northeast wind and therefore most of the time the sea is rather rough. The different seasonal winds are never far from the island. And in the wintertime, those winds are likely to be so strong you may even find it hard to move around and therefore its high season is short and June is considered off-season .It is very popular during July and August and the population, which is around 2500 increase to 25 à 30000.
Local people arrange their house as pensions and move to vineyards. It is a impossible to find chaise longues or a shady place along the beaches after 9 o'clock. However, June is marvelous in Bozcaada and also according to islanders it is calm and beautiful from September to early October.
 We suggest you Aral Tatil Çiftliği as the favorite Holiday Farm of Bozcaada. It is spread over a 14.000 sq.mt area and promises calm, tranquil and joyous vacation. The authentic 100 years old rooms you are going to stay have interesting names such as Saman Damı (Straw Roof), Pırpır Damı (Pırpır Roof), Karasakız (Black gum), Vasilaki and Polente Feneri (Polente Lantern) and each name has a story. You can spend a nice day by horseback riding, cycling and playing table tennis or volleyball. History, nature and entertainment are all together, the environment is a real farm and homemade wines are very delicious. You can even cycle to the Ayazma beach, which is three kilometers away.
We left Kiraz Tatil Çiftliği and moved to Thenes Hotel in İğdelik, which also has a private beach. The beach is more beautiful and you hear the waves in your room. However, the first place coming to one's mind when talking about Bozcaada is Ayazma beach. The sea is somewhat cool due to freshwater springs on the bottom but never chills and you don't want to leave. There are minibuses continuously carrying you from the center to the beaches such as Ayazma, Sulubahçe and Habbeli Cove. Almost all restaurants on the quay have branches at Ayazma for daily visitors. The manager of Thenes Hotel's restaurant at Ayazma says, “Since the world is nothing at all, drink by day and drink by night.” And almost all islanders keep up with this sentence. If only there had been a hotel by the sea to overnight. But since there is a church near by building is forbidden.
During the Balkan War Bozcaada was occupied by Greeks and between 1912 and 1923 the island was ruled by them. Bozcaada was the naval base of English and French during the Çanakkale War and it was conceded to Turkey in September 20, 1923 after the Lausanne Treaty. Today about twenty Greek families still reside in the island and live on fishery and produce homemade wines. The islanders have learned “tomato jam” which is the specialty of the area from Greeks. The owner of Salkım Restaurant boastingly tells that he learned to prepare octopus salad marinated in wine from old Greeks.
The economy of the island is based on viniculture as the result of its climate. Local people also live on fishery. The argillaceous earth of the island is infertile and nothing else is raised. Vineyards cover the 10.560.000 sq.mt of the island and Bozcaada is on the viniculture literature with its grapes such as Karakız (Kuntra), Karalahana and Vasilaki raised for wine and the famous delicious Çavuşüzümü, which is the indispensable fruit of the meals. Here, viniculture is as old as the island itself. Tenes, the island named after, has found a wild vine around Poyraz Port of today and he has improved it and produced the vine called “kuntra”. Grapes are the inseparable part of life in Bozcaada even Tenes coins of BC have grape bunches on them also bunches of grapes hang down from the balconies of beautiful old Greek houses on narrow streets.
Zeytinyağlı Yaprak Dolması (vine leaf wraps with olive oil) is the dish, which must be eaten at Bozcaada. The small wrapped dolmas get their taste from the leaves and these leaves are used even in omelets. Famous traveler Evliya Çelebi has said that the çavuşüzümüraised in Bozcaada cannot be tasted anywhere else. I am not going to claim that you cannot taste Bozcaada's wine anywhere else in the world however the wines are really marvelous. Moreover, you don't feel any discomfort afterwards although you drink too much wine the night before.
Bozcaada has several historical places, KöprülüMehmed Paşa Mosque, which was built in the 17th century and Alaybey Mosque are open to worship. The church that is remained from Venetians is still active and serves the Christian community of the Island. The Bozcaada Kalesi (Bozcaada Fort) built on a high rocky hill is called Eski Kale (Old Fort) among the islanders. The castle was first built by Phoenicians with cut stones then the castle was restored by the Genoese and the Venetians. Then Fatih Sultan Mehmet had the castle built as it is today. There is an ethnography exhibition, which is founded in 1996 completely with the public support and an Open-air Museum. The biggest deficiency of the castle is that there is no explanatory information on the works exhibited. When we tried to learn the reason the officer in charge told us that they have informed Istanbul but nobody was interested.
 Bozcaada still preserves its old Greek architectural structure. The new and annoying ones are unfortunately the official buildings. The narrow streets are very sweet. Some old Greek houses converted to cafès by means of elegant restorations and they are in harmony with the historical nature of the island. Lodos and Salkım, which have charming and painstaking decoration, were also meyhane on Greek times and a creek was used to flowing in front of them. The tea gardens lined side by side across Cumhuriyet Meydanı (Cumhuriyet Square) are the rescuers of people looking for shady places. İbo's place that runs a soup-restaurant in winters is both very hygienic and cheap. Moreover İbo will tell you the latest gossips of the island…
Bodrum may be famous with its windmills however weathercocks are the symbols of Bozcaada. The electricity need of Bozcaada has been provided by generators for years. Today the first and the biggest wind power plant in Turkey is located at Bozcaada. It is really amazing to watch seventeen weathercocks spinning at sunset.
It is unfairness not to introduce you Rengigül Pension. It is a typical example of old Greek houses. When you first step into the house you immediately feel a very different and special atmosphere. The hostess, Ms. Özcan Germiyanoğlu has worked in Germany as a pedagogue for years. Three years ago she restored her 10-year home as a pension. It is open throughout the year, except one or two months in winters. The pension has a very small living room decorated with furniture remained from her grandmother even maybe from her great-grandmother., an open kitchen, a marvelous garden and only five rooms. The most beautiful characteristic of the breakfast is the twelve kinds of jam. The most favorite ones are bleak grape jam with rose leaf and poppy jams. The garden resembles ancient gardens. Plainly long lasting friendships are started here. Some guests read books; some play guitar and unforgettable nights are being spent here. Anyhow, the guests staying for the first time immediately reserve their rooms for the following summer. It is almost impossible to find room on July and August. The two rooms on the top floor of Rengigül Sanat Evi (Rengigül Art House), which is located just one street away, are also used as pension. She also has a “vineyard house” with a capacity of 8-10 people on the other side of the island however we could not visit it.
 Once the Greek population of Bozcaada was staying in the village during winters and at vineyard houses in summers. Today some farmhouses have become the summer places of Istanbulites. As you see Bozcaada has also been discovered, but not like Bodrum, meaning there are not crowded apartment blocks and wrong structuring. In a sense Bozcadada is one of the rare unspoiled places of Aegean region. Lets hope it stays as it is now.
During weekends Jeeps with number plate 34 (Istanbul) block the traffic and islanders become uncomfortable. They are absolutely right because Bozacada is very beautiful. Let's not destroy it.
Besides wine Bozcaada is famous with its girls, dust and wind! I haven't met many beautiful girls however we dealt out the dust and wind.
Every year between July 26 '28 Bağbozumu Şenlikleri (Vintage Festival) is arranged in the island. About four or five thousand Greek arrive Bozcaada. During this period people arranges entertainments in vineyards, dance and of course drink bountiful wine. It is a privilege to be in Bozcaada at this date and if you intend to participate this festival better make reservation well advance.
Now Bozcaada has a special place among vacation sites. However I'm afraid everybody thinks like me and convert Bozcaada to Yozada (Degenerated Island). Farewell dear Bozcaada till September. Your sea, sand, fresh air, streets, houses, vines, meyhane, tea gardens, wines, octopus casserole, yaprak dolma and people are all beautiful, pretty and delicious. Don't change always remain as today.
For more information, please click.
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