Gökçeada, Turkey by Annabelle Thorpe

The Turkish city of Çanakkale is not the place to be on a swelteringly hot day. But perched on the Dardanelle straits, it is the most accessible place to hop on a ferry to Turkey’s Aegean islands.
Three hours after the ferry ground its way out of Çanakkale, I stepped onto the quiet harbour at Kuzu on the island of Gökçeada. The air was thick with the scent of thyme, which grows wild across the island, and a stiff breeze meant the temperature felt reassuringly cooler than on the mainland. But most pleasing was the feeling that I had somehow stepped back 15 years – guesthouse and pension signs swung in the breeze outside slightly ramshackle houses, and there was a wonderful lack of the pastel-coloured apartment blocks that characterise so many of Turkey’s coastal resorts.
In spite of the lack of mass tourism (or perhaps because of it) there is plenty to do. Many of the beaches are completely free of development, although I found plenty of life at Aydincik Plaji, in the far west of the island, where the breeze picked up and the water was scissored by kite- and windsurfers. Nearby, there were rock tombs to discover, and further afield a handful of ruined Greek villages bear testament to the mixed heritage of the island.
It’s a ramble in the morning, laze on the beach in the afternoon kind of a place, and I found myself spending a considerable part of my days lazing in cafés such as Barba Yorgo in Tepekoy, drinking tiny cups of syrupy coffee and eating even more syrupy baklava.
The unspoilt nature of the island means that this is not a place to come in search of luxury. But the Zeytindali Hotel is charming: two stone-built houses in the traditional Greek style, housing 16 rooms that are simple without being spartan. The real joy is its restaurant, which serves breakfast and dinner on the pretty terrace, with most of the ingredients sourced on the island. I found myself addicted to the home-made thyme honey, which went well with the salty home-made cheeses that appeared on the breakfast table each morning.
The fact that it is the largest of Turkey’s islands makes it likely that developers and aparthotels will soon start to appear. But for now, Gökçeada is a blissful escape – unpretentious, undeveloped, unchanged. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d38261d6-b44e-11e0-9eb8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1YaCJPs2FGestas (www.gestasdenizulasim.com.tr) run ferries between Gökçeada and Çanakkale four times a week. www.zeytindalihotel.com

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Marble pedestals in the temple reveal the existence of sports
It has been revealed during excavations carried out in the ancient Apollon Smintheus Temple in the northwestern province of Çanakkale’s Ayvacık district that the Olympic Games had been organized in the Troas region.
The excavations that have been continuing for some 30 years in the region continued last month under the leadership of Professor Coşkun Özgünel and new historical, social and religious documents were discovered.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, team member Associate Professor Davut Kaplan from the Ondokuz Mayıs University said the existence of sports for 3,000 years was proved with both archaeological and written documents. “The most important among them is the athletic games practiced at grave yards to please the dead,” he said.
Kaplan said the goal of the sports practiced in a social area was commemoration while others were practiced for the gods.
“It is known that all these sports were not only regional but also universal. The universal development of sports depends on the existence of competition. But the real matter is material. Some types of sports had commercial aims as well as played a role in solving political and social matters.”
Kaplan said documents in the Greek language were seen in marble pedestals unearthed during the excavations.
“Along with 19 pedestals, we have also found nine pedestals, one of which is unwritten and one is broken. All these pedestals were part of a statue but we have not reached the statues yet. Considering the footprints on the pedestals, we can say that all statues had human figures. The names of sportsmen and their degrees are also written on the pedestals. The most important feature of these pedestals is that they show the existence of a comprehensive organization in the Troas region. We can say that they were international organizations in today’s sense. As long as the excavations continue, we will reveal more information about the sports games in the region at the time of the Roman Empire,” Kaplan said. ÇANAKKALE - Anatolia News Agency

Anatolian Christians to celebrate Grape Festival
Greeks, Armenians and Syriac Christians in Anatolia are observing a grape fast by refraining from eating from the new harvest until the fruit is consecrated in church on Sunday and Monday. Churches across Anatolia will be celebrating the festival with special masses on Aug 14 and 15
Baskets of grapes blessed in churches will be distributed among the people on the day of the mass, after which time the fast is broken.
Christians throughout Anatolia are preparing to celebrate the Grape Festival and the Assumption of Mary on Aug. 14 and 15 with a variety of activities that stretch back into the pre-Christian era.
Churches across Anatolia will be holding mass for the occasion, including the Church of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Sümela Monastery in Trabzon, the Syriac Deyr ul-Zafaran Monastery in Mardin and the Surp Asdvazsazsin Armenian Church in Vakıflı, Anatolia’s last remaining Armenian village, which is located in the southern province of Hatay. During the celebrations of mass, newly harvested grapes will receive blessings as part of the festivities.
Assumption Day celebrates the ascent into heaven of Mary in accordance with Christian tradition. The roots of the festival, however, date back to the polytheistic era prior to Christianity; when Anatolian peoples were Christianized, new year celebrations and the vine harvest festival of the ancients were replaced by the Assumption Day and the Grape Festival, respectively.
Greeks, Armenians and Syriac Christians in Anatolia observe a grape fast and refrain from eating from the new grape harvest until grapes are consecrated in church. Ostentatious celebrations are also held in churches across Greece, as well as in the Central Armenian Apolostic church of Etchmiadzin in Armenia, the seat of the Catholicos of all Armenians.
Baskets of grapes blessed in churches are distributed among the people on the day of the mass, after which time the fast is broken, according to tradition, by eating blessed grapes mixed with non-consecrated grapes. The grapes also symbolize fertility and abundance.
Different Stories
There are several stories in circulation regarding the origins of the Grape Festival and Assumption Day. According to a story that has been transmitted through the ages within the Armenian community, when some children were poisoned by eating grapes that had not yet become ripe, the founder of the Armenian church, Surp Krikor Lusavorich (Saint Gregory the Illuminator), issued a ban on eating grapes until harvest time.
Such traditions have been preserved intact for centuries by being transmitted from generation to generation among the many Christian Anatolian peoples. This year’s celebrations will begin in the morning hours and last until around noon on Aug. 14 and 15. Baskets full of grapes will decorate sacred tables in churches.
Visitors are welcome to any number of Greek, Armenian and Syriac churches in Istanbul on Sunday and Monday to observe the vine harvest festivities during mass. VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

An odeon in the ancient city of Teos, one of the 12 Ionian cities found within İzmir’s Seferihisar district, is to reopen to artistic events again after hundreds of years.
The Odeon in the ancient city of Teos is known for its interest in art and artists. Now works have been continuing to revive the city as an art venue after centuries.
An odeon in the ancient city of Teos, one of the 12 Ionian cities found within İzmir’s Seferihisar district, is to reopen to artistic events again after hundreds of years.
“We plan to organize theater events in the area,” said Ankara University member Associate Professor Musa Kadıoğlu, adding that the art would likely return to the stage after three years of restorations by a 25-person team. “Work is also continuing to turn the city into a site of ruins. We have finished the establishment of the destination boards and are working on creating paths for visitors. This place will be a very exciting one when the Odeon opens as an art venue. It will become a center contributing to the cultural life of society after hundreds of years.”
Teos possessed the largest Dionysos Temple in the Hellenistic world, according to Kadıoğlu.
Noting that restoration on the temple, which was constructed by the famous architect Hermogenes, would soon begin, Kadıoğlu said: “In this way, we will revive the city’s artistic image. Because the city is known for its interest in art and artists, and the world’s first artists’ union was established in this city. The Dionysos Artists’ Union remained in the city until the end of the 3rd century A.D but dissolved because of some disagreements.”
Work to clean, document and restore the four-square-kilometer area, which dates back to 1000 B.C., began again last year after a 12-year hiatus. SEFERİHİSAR, İzmir - Anatolia News Agency