Since the weather has been unseasonably warm and sunny, we decided to pretend it was summer on Saturday and head out to the Prince Islands just off the coast of Istanbul. They are a popular vacation spot for locals and tourists alike in the summer, and on warm days in the winter, they appear to be a popular with hikers. The local ferry system runs a line from our local pier that stops at the four largest islands. We had a fun ferry ride out in the morning, and enjoyed comparing each of the islands from the window. The last stop is at the largest of the three, named The Big Island.
We only had about two hours on the island, but we had a really delightful visit… and since most things were closed for the off season, we felt like the time was just fine. We took a horse drawn carriage ride to tour the island. There are no private vehicles on the island, the roads are clear for horse carriages and bicycles. We gawked through town at the Victorian villas and modern palatial summer homes with terraced lawns and landscaped grounds. Then the carriage turned up through the center of the island where a national park preserves acres of pine forest and a wonderful view of the islands and the mainland coast. At a rest stop at the top of the hill, Drew got to “ride” one of the horses- he is going to be talking about it for days!
We had time for a brief lunch right on the Marmara. The view was better than the food, but we were able to eat and make the ferry on time, and that was important so that we could get Drew down for a nap. Drew had great fun on the back of the ferry boat watching people feed the seagulls and watching the wake of the boat. We would especially recommend the trip in the summer, but it was great to get out for the fresh air and green space.
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