In the past it was called Antigoni after Antigonus I Monophthalmus, the father of Demetrius I of Macedon, one of the Diadochi (Successors) of Alexander the Great, who built a fort here. The name Burgas is thought to be derived from Pyrgos.
The island covers and area of 1.5 sqm and is dominated by a single hill, Bayraktepe, also known as Hristos Tepesi. In 2003 a terrible fire wrote off most of its woodland. Visible just off shore is tiny uninhabited Kaşıkadası. There are great views back towards the mainland from the remote Kalpazankaya – the name means ‘Counterfeiters’ Rock’ in Turkish.
Historically, the island was mainly inhabited Greeks and in the 20th century many Jews from Istanbul settled here. However, with the dwindling of Turkey’s minorities, the make-up of the local population is now virtually indistinguishable from the rest of Istanbul.
Şehir Hatları ferries connect the island with the mainland from terminals at Eminönü and Kabataş on the European side of Istanbul and from Kadıköy and Bostancı on the Asian side.
Most of the ferries call at Burgaz after Kınalıada and before Heybeliada and Büyükada.
Attractions
The island was home to short-story writer Sait Faik Abasıyanık whose house, originally called Spanudis Mansion, is sometimes open to visitors. Many of Sait Faik’s stories are set on Burgazada.
The Church of Iohannes Prodromos (John the Baptist), built in 1899, dominates the small town on the island. It was extensively restored after the Marmara Earthquake of 1999. The site was originally occupied by a Byzantine church which became a prison for St Methodius the Confessor, who was exiled here for his opposition to iconoclasm but eventually went on to become the Greek patriarch.
The Monastery of Hagios Georgios Garipi was largely built in 1897 and had to be extensively restored after the 1999 Marmara Earthquake. In 1917 it served as a refuge for some of the White Russians fleeing the Russian Revolution. There has been a monastery on the site since at least the 17th century.
On the top of Bayraktepe stands the Monastery of the Transfiguration, dating back to Byzantine time and standing on the site of an Ancient Greek temple. The current building is mainly a work of the 19th century.
The Burgazada Sanitorium, founded in 1928, is one of the oldest sanitoria in the country. The site has been unoccupied for quite a time and recently been transformed to a restaurant.
