Some 20,000 people visit notorious Marmara island since inauguration

ISTANBUL

Yassıada, a Marmara island notorious for its jails and trials from the 1960 military coup, has hosted more than 20,000 visitors since it was inaugurated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in May 2020.

The island attracts Istanbul residents with a tourism complex that includes a 125-room hotel, a conference hall with a capacity to host 600 people, a 1,200-person mosque, a museum, cafes and restaurants.

Four ferries run to the island every week, departing from the Kadıköy dock with fares ranging from 25 to 50 liras ($2.6 – $5.2), while the Valide Sultan ferry of the Üsküdar Municipality sails free of charge every Thursday.

The ferries that steam away from the docks on the Asian side of the Turkish metropolis treat passengers to fine views of Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque on the right.

On the island, visitors find themselves in a complex where they can witness one of the most important moments in Turkish political history. They can also tour the May 27 Museum and watch the 13-minute film about the notorious trials in the courtroom.

One of the smallest of the picturesque Princes’ Islands archipelago in the Marmara Sea, it is known as the island where the political brass of the once-ruling Democrat Party was exiled prior to the May 27, 1960 military coup.

The trials of Turkey’s first democratically-elected prime minister, Adnan Menderes, Foreign Minister Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan before the military junta were held on the island.