Yassıada

Coordinates: 40°51′52″N 28°59′36″E / 40.86444°N 28.99333°E / 40.86444; 28.99333
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the island near Istanbul. For the shipwreck site near Bodrum, see Yassi Ada.
Yassıada in 2014
John the Orphanotrophos sends Constantine Dalassenos into exile on Plate (Yassıada) - miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes

Yassıada (Turkish: Flat Island), officially renamed Democracy and Freedom Island (Turkish: Demokrasi ve Özgürlükler Adası) in 2013,[1] is one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, to the southeast of Istanbul. In Byzantine times, it was known as Plati (Greek: Πλάτη). It should not be confused with Yassi Ada, a different island in the Aegean Sea.

The island, which has an area of 45 acres (18 ha), is officially a neighbourhood of

Istanbul Province, Turkey
.

History

The

Narses who was sent here before being imprisoned at Prinkipos
in the 4th century AD. they were still using the island for political prisoners Into the 11th century and the remains of four underground prison cells from this period can still be seen.

The Byzantine Emperor Theofilos built the Platea Monastery on the island and Patriarch Ignatios, who was exiled to the island in 860, built a church on it; tunnels under the church were used as a dungeon.[2]

Plati was captured by the Latin Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

In 1857, Yassıada was purchased by the British ambassador

Ismail Pasha
who didn't construct any new buildings and completely neglected the island.

Yassıada Trials

With the establishment of the

Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and ministers Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and Hasan Polatkan - were taken to İmralı Island (near the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara) where they were executed in 1961.[3]

After the trials, Yassıada was returned to the Turkish Navy and lessons continued to take place in the naval school buildings until 1978.

In 1993, the island became the property of Istanbul University's department of Marine Life and Sea Products, which used it for lessons and research. However, the strong winds on the island made life difficult for the students and eventually the classes were moved elsewhere.

The island was renamed Democracy and Freedom Island in 2013 in memory of the 1960 military coup, the first in the history of the Turkish Republic, and to eradicate the negative associations attached to the name 'Yassıada' after the 1960 trials.[2]

In 2015 work began on redeveloping the island for tourism. Officially reopened by President Erdoğan on 27 May 2020, it now features a 27 May Museum, a convention centre, a hotel and a mosque.[4] Disgruntled ecologists have nicknamed it Betonada (Turkish: Concrete Island).[4]

References and notes

  1. ^ "Infamous Istanbul island home to Menderes' trial renamed 'Democracy and Freedom Island'". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b Yassıada to become ‘Island of Democracy and Freedom’
  3. ISBN 9781784741754
    .
  4. ^ a b "Betonada'ya dönüştürülen Yassıada 27 Mayıs'ın yıl dönümünde açılıyor". Yeşil Gazete - ekolojik, politik, katılımcı, şenlikli... (in Turkish). 27 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.

External links


40°51′52″N 28°59′36″E / 40.86444°N 28.99333°E / 40.86444; 28.99333

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