The Princes' Islands (today Adalar) are a chain of nine islands off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, in the Sea of Marmara. The largest island is Büyükada. Adalar is a collection of islands just off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey. ... Shows the Location of the Province Ä°stanbul Istanbul (Turkish: Ä°stanbul; contraction of the citys previous Greek name Constantinople) is the largest city in Turkey, and arguably the most important. ... Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara (Turkish: Marmara Denizi, Modern Greek: Μαρμαρα̃ Θάλασσα or Προποντίδα) (also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea) is an inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating the Asian part of Turkey from its European part. ...

During the Byzantine period, princes and other royalty were exiled on the islands, lending them their present name. During the 19th century the islands became a popular resort for Istanbul's wealthy, and Victorian-era cottages and houses are still preserved on the largest of the Prince's islands. The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ...

Today, the islands are popular tourist destinations for day trips via ferry from Istanbul. Motorized vehicles are forbidden on most of the islands, so visitors explore the islands by foot, bicycle, in horse-drawn carriages, or by riding donkeys.

A convent on Prinkipo was the place of exile for Byzantine empresses Irene, Euphrosyne, Zoe and Anna Dalassena. Leon Trotsky also spent time on Prinkipo. See: Byzantine Empress Irene 797-802 AD Eirene for the Greek goddess (one of the Horae) Irene was a Broadway musical first produced in 1919. ... In Greek mythology, Euphrosyne (you FROSS uh nee: mirth or joy) was one of the Charites, known in English also as the Three Graces. ... Zoe Zoe Zoe what have you done!!!!! ... Anna Dalassena was an important Byzantine noblewoman who rose to position of sort of Empress-Mother during the reign of her son Emperor Alexius I. She married Johannes Komnenos, a nephew of Emperor Isaac I Comnenus (emperor 1057–1059). ... 1915 passport photo of Trotsky Leon Davidovich Trotsky (Russian: Лев Давидович Троцкий; also transliterated Leo, Lev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij and Trotzky ) (October 26 (O.S.) = November 7 (N.S.), 1879 – August 21, 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronstein (Лев Давидович Бронштейн), was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist intellectual. ...

External links

• Istanbul's isle of diversity from the Christian Science Monitor, By Yigal Schleifer, July 28, 2005