Burgazada
Burgazada, Burgaz Adası, or shortly Burgaz (Greek: Αντιγόνη, Antigoni) is the third largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, Turkey.
It is officially a neighbourhood in the Adalar district of Istanbul. Burgazada is a common setting and even a major theme for writer Sait Faik Abasıyanık, where he also resided. Today, his residence is kept as a museum. In 2003, Burgazada suffered a terrible forest fire, losing 4 square kilometres of its entire woodland.
The island consists of a single hill 2 kilometres across. Demetrius I of Macedon, one of the Diadochi (Successors) of Alexander the Great, built a fort (Greek: Pyrgos for fort/tower) here and named it after his father Antigonus I Monophthalmus. The island took this name, but is generally known by the Turks today as simply "Burgaz."
Historically, the island has been inhabited chiefly by the Greek minority, whereas in the 20th century, many Jews from Istanbul have settled in Burgazada. In recent years, with the dwindling of minority populations of Turkey, the local population balance has shifted towards that of Istanbul in general.
The Burgazada Sanitarium, founded in 1928, is one of the oldest sanitariums in the country.
References
- Burgazada at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality website
Coordinates: 40°52′48″N 29°03′42″E / 40.879905°N 29.061756°E
