Yassiada, from Burgazada

Yassiada, from Burgazada

Ferry from Istanbul

Ferry from Istanbul

Burgazada

Burgazada

Market vendor, Kinaliada

Market vendor, Kinaliada

102 years old, Kinaliada

102 years old, Kinaliada

Sivriada

Sivriada

Heybeliada

Heybeliada

Kinaliada

Kinaliada

Kinaliada

Kinaliada

Erdem, Burgazada

Erdem, Burgazada

Kinaliada

Kinaliada

Heybeliada

Heybeliada

Turkey

Princes' Islands

Summer 2011 • Teaching hours fell sharply because Turks seem to lose their enthusiasm for English when the weather is 35°C and they're fasting for Ramazan. Lack of income meant no partying on the Aegean or Mediterranean coast; instead spent several weekends having a poor-man's holiday on the Princes' Islands, located in the Marmara Sea only a 45-minute ferry ride from Istanbul. The four biggest islands are developed and inhabited—the saving grace being a ban on private automobiles, so it's possible to walk along the roads without getting mowed down. Everyone seems to have a favorite island; mine is Kinaliada, a Turkish Sausalito minus the boutiques, bistros, and galleries. Winter must be a drag on these windswept rocks, but the summers are a bargain hunter's paradise.

Yassiada, from Burgazada

Yassiada, from Burgazada

Ferry from Istanbul

Ferry from Istanbul

Burgazada

Burgazada

Market vendor, Kinaliada

Market vendor, Kinaliada

102 years old, Kinaliada

102 years old, Kinaliada

Sivriada

Sivriada

Heybeliada

Heybeliada

Kinaliada

Kinaliada

Kinaliada

Kinaliada

Erdem, Burgazada

Erdem, Burgazada

Kinaliada

Kinaliada

Heybeliada

Kinaliada