A more detailed version of my article published in Hürriyet Seyahat
How to Go to Gökçeada Go?
Gökçeada, historically known as İmroz, is the land of abundance of Imbrasos, the god of fertility in barren lands.. With its history dating back to Ancient Greece, it is described as the island of the sea god Poseidon in Homer’s Iliad.. You can reach Gökçeada by the Kabatepe ferry in Saros.
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I think the best way to go on this road at around 4 am is Istanbul It takes four and a half hours between Kabatepe and catches the 8:45 ferry in the morning.. You’re on the island in an hour and twenty minutes.. If you go on a weekend or a special day, there is an incredible queue on the ferry.
It is now easy to buy tickets online, even if it is 40 cars.. There was a plane that took off on Mondays, they said it wasn’t this year.. We paid 35 TL for the vehicle pass by ferry, and 30 TL for the caravan.. There is no extra charge for the passenger inside the vehicle.
Kefalos
We are going to our friends in the diving club in Kefalos. There are several caravan campgrounds in Kefalos. Around 30TL per day. You can get electricity and water.. You can also set up a tent.
Kefalos side of Gökçeada is a sandy beach. The ever-blowing wind of the island has made this a wind surf and kite surf paradise.. There are schools that teach these sports. The skies are covered with flying kitesurfers on the sparkling white beach, where Bulgarians and Romanians come with caravans and tents, around the salt lake.
It has such a beautiful view that it cannot be described.. Even though my flying style is with pareom, I applaud all of them standing up, enchanted by the insatiable scenery and acrobatic movements.. There is no Turkish plate.
Kefalos In front of the diving club, there is a place where the fish are fed when it is opened a little.. It gives us great pleasure to watch a baby stingray feed and swim with it during our morning swims.. We can’t get enough of watching.
Among the places reserved for surfers in Kefalos, places are reserved for those who come to swim like us.. It is important that you do not enter the surfers’ territory so that nothing can happen to you.. At the very end of the beach in Kefalos, the sea is partly stony but partly meadow grass. It’s fun to take a mask and watch the bottom of the sea and try to find the bandits among them.
Gökçeada Salt Lake
There is a Salt lake on the
Kefalos side. There is no stream flowing here. Formed by sea water and rain. This place is frequented by flamingos in the autumn.
He rubs the black cream mud he takes from the bottom of this lake on his body.. if you can find. We had to call. If you go with a thick-soled slipper, you won’t stick to the muddy part like me.
The mud is literally vacuuming.. When I find the mud I’m happy like I found gold, I start playing. We laugh a lot at the shapes we take. It smells bad, I still stink.
The distance between the salt lake and Kefalos beach is short. The mud dries up as he walks. In the meantime, I don’t neglect to hitchhike to vehicles.. Everyone who sees us laughs at us a lot.
I don’t know if washing the mud in the sea ends the mud of the lake, but it comes out very easily in the sea.. You have skin like silk. We have become like cotton, but we smell like filth.. Do I care? Of course not.
Gökçeada Center
Gökçeada is actually a district of Çanakkale. Like other islands, there is no settlement and activity around the port.. You must come to the center of Gökçeada from the port. If you came without a vehicle, there is a minibus or taxi from the port.. Not far from the port. You can stay in the center of Gökçeadaand go to a different place every day with the minibuses departing from here.. Do not forget that there is no sea in the center of Gökçeada.
We bought our main needs from the center of Gökçeada when we arrived. Like the city, there are banks, markets, butchers, restaurants, everything.. Don’t come back without eating the island’s famous goat, Efi almond cookies.
There are several restaurants, grocery stores, etc. in the village, which is close to Kefalos.. From there you can meet your limited needs.. In the evening, the village is frequented by Kite surfers.. We go back to our friends in Divepark and have our fill of conversation.
The wind at night is so strong that I, inexperienced in caravans, wait until the morning when the caravan will topple.. Strong wind the next day. My friend is going to kitesurf. In Salda Lake, his enthusiasm was in the throes, and this time the wind was high but without training.
Yıldızkoy, Gökçeada Underwater National Park
Then we’re going out for a tour of the island. First we go to Yildizkoy, where Gökçeada Underwater National Park is located and I fell in love with.. This is the only Underwater National Park in Turkey. No gate, no entrance fee. Hunting is not allowed here. Neither fishing rod nor harpoon nor net. The gendarmerie is in constant pursuit and the penalty is severe.. keep in mind. Since hunting is prohibited, the fish are huge and they follow you, they do not escape.
Those who stay on the island generally prefer the numerous apartments in the village of Bademli. On the way to Yıldızkoy, you pass a settlement with these cute apartments.. There is a campground in this bay in the northwest of the island. They no longer accept caravans. If the tent is yours, it’s 30TL per person, if you buy it for breakfast, it’s 55TL.
The camp, which I stayed here years ago, has hot showers, internet, and great music playing, has a high price. it surprises me. Once in a windless state, I dived in a lake-like bay and climbed the rocks in the bay, which is windy and wavy.. It has a very different rock structure.. The beach is stony and the water is slippery and rocky, there is a pontoon pier.
Be careful when jumping, it’s not too deep. We dived in the bay in the national park and ate something at the campsite.. An island toast was 12 liras. It was expensive for us. A little thyme and a little cheese turned into island toast for you.
Zeytinli Village
Next, go to Zeytinli Village and eat Barba Hristo’s custard with mastic gum There is dibek coffee.
The school with 3-5 students in the village is under renovation again.. However, in 2015, the school, which had been closed for 50 years, was reopened.. I’d like to think it’s a short-term renovation. There is a free parking lot in front of the school.
You walk through wonderful streets as you wind your way through the old stone-lined Greek streets.. The village is lively. Those who leave this place return to their villages in the summer to earn money, and in September they leave.. I’m going to close this place too,” he says while serving the mastic custard.. You have little time left to visit this year.
Derekoy
Next is Derekoy. We will visit the historical churches and laundry here. A young man we met in the village describes the location of the mulberry tree next to the laundry.. He also tells that if we wash our hands with mulberry leaves, the paint will come off.. Before he can learn its name, it moves away quickly.
Derekoy was the largest village on the island, even in Turkey, at the time. So here’s the biggest laundromat. First time I see a historic laundromat. Currently only 150 households live. Everywhere is ruined, devastated. It has been sold on the destroyed houses.. It is not known who bought it and why.
The Address of the Magnificent Sunset Kaleköy
We return to Yukarı Kaleköy and catch the famous sunset. There are a lot of people. They’re waiting for the wine in their hands. We watch the sun disappear in the vast sea.
There are very nice restaurants in Lower Kaleköy. This is the most lively part of the island.. Pearls, coffee, taverns… There is a diving club, but those with stars like me do not like to dive.
If you are diving for the first time, they will be very interested in you.. At the diving club in Kefalos you can dive in all kinds of ways.. There is a waterfall on the island, but I couldn’t go this time.. Has a dirt road and requires a high ground vehicle. We’re half way back. It was very beautiful according to those who went.. A little further from Dereköy, there is a road that deviates from the right.
Uğurlu, Hidden Harbor
The westernmost tip of the island and Turkey Uğurlu- Hidden harbor. It is a favorite of campers with a long sandy beach and a pine forest on the right.. I think the fact that it’s free has a lot to do with it.
Famous for its sunsets.. Those looking for a quiet and windless beach should head to Laz Bay in the south of the island. It is generally windless.
Gökçeada can give you everything you are looking for with its generally windy weather, sandy or rocky sea, island flavors, famous sunsets, it is a quiet and peaceful place.. In fact, this year was too crowded.. Even in July, there were no people on the island.
