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Giresun Adası is a small island in the Black Sea approximately 1 nautical mile from the city of Giresun. It is the largest island on the Turkish Black Sea coast. To get to the island, you need to hire a boat and sailor. During my visit to the Kaçkar Mountain, on our return journey, we stopped in Giresun and visited the island.
As we chugged across the sea, we passed many cormorants positioned on a small rocky headland, waiting for the fisherman to come back and an easy dinner. Arriving at the island, there is a concrete jetty where boats can be moored and visitors could use for sunbathing, or diving from into the Black Sea.
The island has a nickname of “Crusoe Island†and it has one inhabitant, (acting as a sort of caretaker I expect), who came to greet us. Walking around the island takes no time at all, but there is plenty to see. On one side there is a derelict wall, which was part of its later history, when the island was used as a monastery. There were other relics dating back to the monastery, old wine barrels, a quaint old bench, and various other signages, in both Turkish and English.
Preserved as a Class II historical and natural site, it is not allowed to be used as a residential area. It has ancient names, Aretias, Areas, Areos Nesos and Puga, but is now known quite simply as “Giresun Adası†(Giresun Island).
The island has as many myths as a small island could; it is believed there was a temple on it, built by the Amazons, the warrior women in ancient times, therefore it was also known as Amazon Adası. There is a large black stone, The Hamza Stone, balancing precariously on three legs, something like a trivet, which is said to hold magical properties. It is said that it will give youthfulness to the old and fertility to the childless. Rituals are said to be carried out to this day.
There is also another mythological tale about Athamus, king of Thessaly in ancient Greece, who, with his wife Nephele, produced two sons. During a famine, the king was advised to kill his sons. His wife Nephele hears of the intentions and hides her sons wrapped in gold fur and sends them to Caucasia. In following years, Hercules arrives at the island to capture the gold fur. But the dragon birds (maybe the Stymphalian Birds?), kicked out of Greece by Hercules, began to fight with the solders. Jason and the Argonauts kill the birds and carry on their voyage to Caucasia in search of the gold fur.
Thankfully there are no dragon birds in residence on the island today, just flocks of seagulls, and hopeful cormorants.
Anyone know of anymore stories or myths?
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