Travel Tales: Burgazada, Turkey

Whether you are a first-time visitor to Burgazada or a seasoned Istanbullu making a return trip, the old adage applies: getting there is half the fun. The ferry runs every hour from Sirkeci (best known as the terminus of the Oriental Express railway) on the European side of Istanbul, and every half-hour from the Bostanci district on the Asian side. Sleek, air-conditioned ferries zip back and forth from Istanbul, but purists will insist you take one of the older, open-air ferries where you can sip your glass of tea and fling parts of your simit, a sesame-studded local variant of the bagel, at the seagulls that invariably trail the boats.

After a few less-than graceful steps down a makeshift gangplank, I spot a cadre of horse-drawn buggies, ready to take my traveling companions and me around the island. While we could certainly have managed to walk to the other side of the island, we hail a buggy and enjoy a bouncy ride at the local speed limit.

I proffer some new Turkish lira to the buggy driver and my friend and I get off at the first stop on our tour. Turkish 20th-century writer Sait Faik spent the better part of his life on a hillside mansion on the island overlooking the Sea of Marmara. His Burgazada home was converted to a museum in 1964, 10 years after he died of cirrhosis. It is rumored that Faik was either gay or bisexual, and that the attitude of the island granted him more freedom. In keeping with the island’s laissez-faire character, we gain entry to Faik’s home by ringing the doorbell of the museum’s caretaker, an old lady who lives on the grounds.

Frequently compared to Mark Twain for their shared penchant for rapier wit and spot-on descriptions of humanity, Faik is considered Turkey’s master of the short story. Twain himself traveled to Turkey, offering this description of Istanbul in “Innocents Abroad": “Its dense array of houses swells upward from the water's edge, and spreads over the domes of many hills.”

Just a five-minute walk away from the Faik museum is the Orthodox Church, St. John the Baptist. A peek inside reveals walls covered with a multitude of gilded icons and a chandelier that gives dimension to the small size of the church’s nave.

On the far end of the island is Kalpazankaya, or “Counterfeiter’s Stone.” On the top of the red cliffs lies a cave where forgers used to store their loot. Today, the bay offers the cleanest swimming within Istanbul city limits and a country restaurant reputed to be Sait Faik’s favorite watering hole. As I tuck into your freshly grilled sea bass, I pour two glasses of raki, the local anise-flavored tipple, one for myself and another for the statue of Faik that stands in the thatched-roof café.

Those who can’t take a quick jaunt to the Princes’ Islands can experience the Kalpazankaya view in this video clip.