Giresun Island

Giresun Adası lies about a kilometre off the city and is the only island of any size in the Turkish Black Sea, which alone makes it notable on a coast that is otherwise a straight line. It carries a Byzantine wall circuit, the ruins of a monastery and chapel, cisterns, and a large standing stone called Hamza Taşı near the middle, around which a fertility custom persists - people circle it three times and throw pebbles into the sea. Classical writers associated the island with the Amazons and with a temple of Ares, and the Argonaut legend has the crew stopping here; none of that is archaeologically demonstrated, and the visible remains are Byzantine and later. The island is a protected area for its vegetation and seabirds, and landing numbers are limited. Boats run from Giresun harbour in the warmer months and stop entirely when the sea is rough, which on this coast is often. In May the Aksu festival includes a boat procession round it.

What you actually see

• The Byzantine walls - the circuit and monastery ruins.
• Hamza Taşı - the standing stone and the custom around it.
• The seabird colonies - the protected vegetation and nesting.
• The crossing - the short boat run from the harbour.

When to go

May to September, when boats run. The Aksu festival in May includes a procession to the island. Crossings are cancelled whenever the sea is up.

Honest expectations

Boats are seasonal and weather-dependent - plans fail here regularly. Landing is limited to protect the site. The Amazon and Argonaut associations are legend, not archaeology. Facilities are none.

Nearby

Giresun town and its castle park are on the mainland; Ordu is west and Trabzon east.