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One of the small islands in the world is found in Turkey. It is
small, but the Muslims have a prober that says little things mean
more than big things. This little island is the island of Bozcaada
which was called Tenedos by the Hellenics when it was invaded by the
Greeks. Bozcaada only has approximately 2000 population, majority
Turks and some Greeks. The shape of this cute place is rectangular;
the area is only 14.5 to 15 square miles. There are people who want
seeing big things including huge places, but there are people who
are fonder of little things such as small places. For those who are
delighted in little stuffs, spending vacation in Bozcaada is
recommended.
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This little island is in
Marmara region, in Çanakkale province. The Aegean Sea is a good
landmark for travelers going to Bozcaada. Among the sources of money
of this district are fishing and tourism. Other products are grapes,
wine and red poppies. They have been producing these three for
centuries. Bozcaada is surrounded by smaller islands called islets,
and this island is near Dardanelles. Dardanelles is one of the
important places in world history. One reason is, it became part of
the city of Troy which is mentioned in the legend of the Trojan War.
This war is the last account in Greek myth. More and more historians
insist that this war really happened, proving that they were able to
dig archeological relics of the city of Troy. The character that
popularize this classic war story is Hellen, who was said the most
beautiful woman in the world. She was a Greek woman whose beauty
started the Greek and Trojan
conflict.
But her beauty was also the cause of the defeat of the Trojans.
Hellen was regarded as the leader of Greek tribe. After thousands of
years, a German historian called the classical Greek civilization as
Hellenic culture that became its name until today. Aside from the
Trojan War, Dardanelles was claimed by the Persians, then by
Alexander the great; then the Ottoman Empire. Dardanelles also
became one of the battlefields in Napoleonic wars, in Russia-Turkey
War and in Greco-Turkish war. Since Tenedos is near Dardanelles,
both islands had some similar historical events. The Greeks claim
that Tenedos was owned by one of their gods Apollo; therefore, they
viewed that it must be a land of the Greeks. This little island also
became one of the battlefields in the
Trojan War.
During the Byzantine Empire era that was in the late Middle Ages in
the history of Europe rivalry for the imperial throne happened in
that empire. The rival monarchs were Emperor John Palaeologus (John
V (and his father-in-law, Emperor John Cantacuzene (John VI). John
Vim’s forces were winning; John V saved himself and strengthens his
defense in Bozcaada until he overpowered John VI. In 1362, Italy
proposed to help him be liberated from his debts in exchange, he
should lead an alliance against the Turks to conquer Tenedos, but he
refused to surrender the island because the locals remained loyal to
him. Some years later, the Venetians had a chance to control
Bozcaada after the Battle in Dardanelles but the Ottomans recovered
it in 1657. In the Russian-Turkish war, the Russians tried to invade
Bozcaada but failed.
In the Greek and Turkish conflicts from 1920s, the Greeks did
everything to gain control over Tenedos but Turkey managed to hold
this island. One of the happiest events in Bozcaada is the grape
harvest festival which is held every July 26-27. Its tourism started
to grow from 1970s-1990s. Aside from the fine beaches of this
island, Turks and foreigners enjoy the relaxing effect of the small
hotels. Sharbat and jam from red poppies are the delicacies in
Bozcaada. Although just a small island, Bozcaada has a lot to offer
for its visitor’s enjoyment.
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