Chicken Island to be converted into culture center

ISTANBUL

Tavuk Adası, roughly translated as “The Chicken Island,” located off the Aegean coastal tourism hub Ayvalık, will convert into a cultural center with a 200 million Turkish Liras investment, the daily Milliyet has reported.

According to a Daily report published on July 25, within the scope a 200 million investment project, the island will host international art exhibitions, cultural projects, gastronomy projects to promote Turkish cuisine, visual arts and performing arts.

The barren islet is only home to the ruins of a monastery named “Ay Yoannu tou Prodromou.”

Dikran Masis, the owner of Chicken Island and the investor of the project, said, “This place is completely idle right now, the cultural heritage monastery on it is on the verge of extinction.”

“We intend to both restore the heritage value and offer a new economic value to the region by making it aesthetically and culturally magnificent,” he said and added: “We will make Chicken Island an attraction center with art and aesthetics all around, where people feel that they have come to a completely different world when they set foot in it.”

Masis pointed out that there will be a “beach” on the island where the vacationists can swim.

In addition to the beach area, there will be various restaurants, cafes and viewing terraces on the island, as well as tent areas the local tradesmen can rent and sell food, beverages and souvenirs.

The Ayvalık Islands consist of 22 islands and islets. The only island among them currently with a settlement is the “Alibey,” famously known as “Cunda.” The rest of them are visited by vacationers making daily boat trips.