Escaping The City Without Really Leaving: A Day Biking on Buyukada

Just a note: I went to Buyukada before the recent protests and I wrote this before then, too. I’ve been conflicted about posting it since it has nothing to do with Gezi Park and I was afraid it might come off as frivolous. But life goes ever on in this massive city—we buy bread, we spend too much time on buses, and we take day trips to the islands. So, I’ve chosen to post it. Enjoy it, and if you’d like to read about my (very peripheral) experience of the protests, click here.

One of the strange things I keep encountering about Istanbul is that the sheer size of the city means you can see vastly different things without leaving its borders. My trip to Rumeli Feneri is one example; our beach trip to Kilyos is another.

The most recent example of this phenomenon is more accessible than those previous two, and vastly different. It’s a part of Istanbul where there are NO CARS. (If you remember my post about Istanbul’s traffic, you’ll know that for this city it’s a BIG DEAL.)

It’s Istanbul’s Princes Islands: Buyukada (The Big Island), Heybeliada, Burgazada, and Kinaliada.

The islands are one of the major draws in Istanbul for both tourists and natives, and also happened to be one of the few touristy things I hadn’t experienced in the city. So I knew I would be going with my family.

But this visit was extra special—we went to Buyukada on MY BIRTHDAY!

Because there are no cars allowed on the islands, people get around either by horse-drawn carriage, or by bike. I love bicycling and it is one the things I miss the most about Boston, so spending a day biking around a car-free island sounded like a heavenly way to spend my birthday.

It takes about an hour to get from Kadikoy to Buyukada by ferry. We packed a picnic lunch and rented our bikes and we were on our way, off for a tour of the island!

All the paths lead to a square in the center of the island, and as we ventured on, we learned that much of the island is uphill. The views were spectacular: turquoise water, dark green islands in the distance, shady tree canopies overhead.

Unfortunately, the island didn’t smell as beautiful as it looked.

Remember that there are only two ways to get around the island? Well, it’s not the bikes that smell.

It’s the horses.

I found that once we veered off the main path, we were able to avoid the horse-smell, as well as the treacherous galloping horses. Apparently Turkish carriage drivers are as reckless as Turkish car drivers! Leaving the well-trod road also allowed us to experience the quiet and the beauty of Buyukada. For long stretches we had the road completely to ourselves.

After looping all around the island, we decided to hike up to the Agia Yorgi Church at the peak of one of Buyukada’s hill… but we quickly aborted this plan when we realized we were nearly out of water, we would have to push the heavy rental bikes, and we were probably going up the wrong road.

Instead, we rode back down to the seaside to take in the magnificent Sea of Marmara.

I highly recommended taking a day trip to Buyukada if you can. It was a beautiful place to spend my birthday—a true change-of-pace from Istanbul, without actually leaving Istanbul at all!

There is a ferry to the Princes Islands that leaves every 90 minutes from both Kadikoy and Kabatas. The journey is shorter from the Asian side, and likely to be crowded.