Pigeon Island in Kusadasi, photo by Adrian Libotean via Flickr
Cruise ships full of passengers and locals seeking seaside summer escape and fun are not the only ones finding Kusadasi cruise port ideal ground for nesting. The city’s name itself reveals the location’s attractiveness for migrating birds in its translation—“bird island.” After the Ottoman take-over in 1086, the name was applied to the town proper, while the fortified off-shore island became simply “Pigeon Island” (Güvercinada).
Today, visitors can access the island via footbridge, and there are plenty of reasons to do so. The main one, of course, is the castle itself, which takes up the majority of the land. Built originally in the 13th century by the Byzantines to protect against coastal pirates. Ironically, the castle supposedly later became a base and treasure house for them, including the dread pirate Kheir-ed-din Barbarossa.
Today, the much-modified castle retains its fairy-tale towers and battlements along the fortified walls, which encircle the entire island. Inside, a free museum inside the Byzantine turret displays related artifacts and the skeleton of a whale, which washed ashore in 1998, but is not consistently open and currently closed.
The birds, both migrating and domestic, probably enjoy the well-maintained flower gardens and aviary (home to doves, peahens, peacocks and chickens, among others) on the grounds more, as well as the olive trees, many of which are fastened with tied pieces of paper holding wishes and prayers, lining the trails around the island.
People, on the other hand, especially couples, prefer wandering the paths, lounging on the beaches (public and private) at the back of the island, exploring the sea life teaming around the huge foundation rocks under water, dining on fresh seafood and sipping tea at one of the restaurants by the shore, or dancing the night away at the disco.
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