Excursions
Prince’s Islands: These nine small islands in the Sea of Marmara, 12km (7 miles) southeast of Istanbul, were once used to keep unwanted heirs to the Ottoman throne in isolated luxury, as well as the exile Leon Trotsky after he was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1929. Today, however, they offer a taste of the past with horse-drawn carriage tours and a ban on cars. Commuter ferries run to four of the islands and the rest are privately owned, uninhabited or military bases. Bykada is the largest and has beautiful wooden mansions and hotels, and a cool pine forest for picnics. A cobblestone path from Karacabey Bay leads to the ancient Ayios Nikolaos monastery; Heybeliada was the centre of an old Greek community, with six churches and monasteries, one dating to 1431; while Brgazada has a Greek monastery on a cliff overlooking the sea. Ferries run to the islands from Sirkeci and Bostanci, taking about 50 minutes to reach the first island and 15 minutes between the other three. Faster sea-buses, operated by IDO (Tel: (0212) 444 4436; website: www.ido.com.tr), also run about three times a day from Kabatas, near Dolmabahe Palace.
Termal: Located 38km (24 miles) southeast of Istanbul, Termal is a natural hot (thermal) spring, famous as a spa since Roman times. After a 20-minute sea-bus journey from Kabatas to Yalova, operated by IDO (Tel: (0212) 444 4436; website: www.ido.com.tr) and running five times per day, it is a short bus (Taskpr-Termal no 4), dolmus or taxi ride to the main complex, which has a historic Turkish bath (hamam), open and covered pools, private rooms and several hotels and restaurants. The spa is open daily 0900-1700. The Yalova Provincial Department of Tourism, Yali Caddesi 33, Yalova (tel: (0226) 813 8507; www.phnetfi/public/ergene/01/yalova.htm) provides further information.
|
Excursions