Heybeliada/Χάλκη

“Island of Halki” Constantinople Postcard (Source: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Library)

In the North Marmara Sea, the island of Heybeliada, or Halki (Χάλκη), sits between Burgazada and Büyükada. It is the second largest of the nine Princes’ Islands, or the Princes’ Archipelago, located southeast of Istanbul. The name “Heybeliada” derives from the Turkish word for saddlebag, “heybe” to describe the island’s shape. Alternatively, the name “Halki” derives from the Greek word for copper, “halkos” (χαλκός) to describe the island’s abundance of copper in its soil. In a climate similar to that of İstanbul, coniferous trees such as pinus brutia, pinus pinea, and marine pine grow indigenously on the island.

Ottoman map of Heybeliada (Source: Heybeliada: Halki Dimonosos by Akillas Millas, 2019)

The island hosted a small population of 800 people at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Small villages distributed across the island characterized Heybeliada in this period, and later came more into contact with each other throughout the century in part due to the burgeoning tourist industry. With the rise of new transportation modes throughout Europe (particularly the steamboat), the mid nineteenth century saw the increase in tourism to all of the Princes’ Islands, including Heybeliada. Industrialism in the nineteenth century enabled Heybeliada’s summer tourism for wealthy members of Constantinople. According to data from early nineteenth century Ottoman registers, a significant portion of the population of Heybeliada was Greek in the early to mid nineteenth century. Common occupations of residents on the island included fisherman, tourism service, and craftsmanship listed in the registers. Residents also tended to vineyards, olive tree agriculture, and wine-making. Sizable sums of jizya, taxes levied on non-Muslim residents, recorded by Ottoman registers for Heybeliada indicate the island’s significant non-Muslim population. Specifically, Temettuat (or financial) registers from 1836-1840 indicate residents of Heybeliada paid approximately 6,345 kuruş in jizya taxes to the Ottoman government.

As a result of the island’s long-standing and robust Greek population, several administrative positions were held by Greek people from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. For instance, mayoral positions for Heybeliada were held by Nikola Anagnosti in 1892, Mimikos Augustis in 1897, Mihail Yorgiu in 1898, and Panayot Haralambidis in 1903. Before the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the churches in Heybeliada were administered by Kadıköy (Halkidonos) Greek Orthodox Metropolitanate (a diocese within the Eastern Orthodox church). After the establishment of the Republic, the churches in Heybeliada came under jurisdiction of the Prinkiponison (Islands) Metropolitanate located in Büyükada.

Greek Priests in Halki. Engraving from Ch. Colville's book (Source: Heybeliada: Halki Dimonosos by Akillas Millas, 2019)

Heybeliada also houses four Greek Orthodox institutions: the Theological School of Halki (Θεολογική Σχολή Χάλκης), Heybeliada Greek Orthodox Cemetery (Ελληνορθόδοξο Νεκροταφείο Χάλκης), Ayios Nikolaos Greek Orthodox Church (Ελληνική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία της Αγίας Νικόλας), and the Church of Panagia Kamariotissa (Η εκκλησία της Παναγίας της Καμαριώτισσας).

Theological School of Halki (Θεολογική Σχολή Χάλκης)

Heybeliada, Greek Orthodox seminary (Source: Photo Archive of Dick Osseman)

The Theological School of Halki was a product of the trend across eastern Europe to maintain Orthodox unity and political power in the nineteenth century. The school also experienced the effect of secularization of education under the Ottoman empire in the late nineteenth century. This educational reform materialized due to an increase of foreign missionary presence, greater wealth accumulation by the state, and the allocation of distinct spaces for schooling. Inside the seminary, the Ayia Triada church serves as a place of worship for students. The Theological School of Halki began hosting seminary courses in 1844 where students committed themselves to seven or eight years of schooling. Early on, the amount of time students committed depended on their previous schooling; with the equivalent of a high school education or primary education, students could begin their career in theological studies, and students without a primary education would complete those studies before continuing in the seminary. Later, the seminary changed their requirements for enrollment several times. In 1894, the building collapsed as a result of an earthquake, and classes were canceled during reconstruction of the building. Although the building successfully reopened after a brief reconstruction period, students of the Heybeliada Naval Academy overtook the building in May of 1918 because of poor conditions of the original academy building on the island. Naval students left the seminary later in the year due to the Armistice of Mudros in October, and the theological seminary was restored.

Heybeliada Greek Orthodox Cemetery (Ελληνορθόδοξο Νεκροταφείο Χάλκης)

Heybeliada Rum Ortodoks Mezarlığı (Source: Kaya Telli, 2022)

The Greek cemetery was originally located near current-day Zaferi Street. Due to the unsanitary conditions of its placement, the cemetery was moved to the southern side of the island with the approval of the Sultan in 1904. The land for the new location of the cemetery on Heybeliada was donated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Nicodemus. In the middle of the cemetery, the Profitis Illia Church draws inspiration from ancient Greek architecture. Its construction finished in 1913. Some families buried in the cemetery include the Tranos-Grigoropulos family, the Konstantinidis family, the Sotiriadis family, and the Priapulos family.

Ayios Nikolaos Greek Orthodox Church (Ελληνική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία της Αγίας Νικόλας)

Although it is unknown, The Ayios Nikolaos church was likely constructed in the Byzantine period. This is evidenced by the excavation of columns underneath the foundations of the current structure. The Ayios Nikolaos church was dedicated to Ayios Nikolaos, the patron saint of fishermen and sailors. In 1857, Greek architect Stefanis Gaitanakis designed and rebuilt the church. After the 1894 earthquake, the church was renovated again with the permission of Sultan Abdulhamid II. Over the years, Ayios Nikolaos has earned a reputation for being the most frequently visited Greek Orthodox church by lay people in Heybeliada.

Church of Panagia Kamariotissa (Η εκκλησία της Παναγίας της Καμαριώτισσας)

View of Eastern End of Chuch (Panagia Kamariotissa) (Source: Thomas F. Matthews, 1973)

The Church of Panagia Kamariotissa played several important roles in the Greek Orthodox community of Heybeliada. Kamariotissa was built in the eleventh or twelfth century and displays architecture characteristic of the late-Byzantine period. Connected to the Panagia Kamartiotissa is the Hristos church that historically served as a place of retreat for Orthodox worshippers beginning in the seventeenth century. Shortly after the Greek War of Independence, the church became a Greek trade school (Ελληνοεμπορική Σχολή Της Χάλκης) administered by Patriarch Konstantinos from 1831 to 1916. The trade school specifically occupied the monastery of St. John within the church. In 1875, several Greek merchants in Heybeliada helped fund the renovation of the trade school: Yorgo Zarifi, Stefanos Zafiropoulos, and Odisea Negropontis. The new structure was designed by A.K. Parigoris, a Greek architect from Trabzon. After World War I, the church transformed again from a trade school into an orphanage for Greek girls. The Church of Panagia Kamariotissa served vital community spaces for worship, education, and refuge for the Greek community of Heybeliada.

Greek Commercial School, in Chalkē (Heybeliada) (Source: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Library)

In addition to the institutions of the Greek community on Heybeliada, the island also hosted several notable artists. Ioannis Yannaros, born in Lesbos in 1858, lived in Heybeliada in the mid-nineteenth century. After attending fine arts school in Germany, he moved to Heybeliada to teach arts at the Greek trade school, or the Greek Commercial School, in the church of Panagia Kamariotissa. His legacy is displayed by his art works in the Ayia Triada and Ayios Yeorgios Krimnu churches. Stavros Zografos was a painter that lived in Heybeliada in the late nineteenth century. He died on the island in 1914, and his paintings are displayed in the Ayios Nikolaos and Ayios Spridonos churches. Many artworks of other Greek artists are displayed in Greek Orthodox churches around the island, solidifying their material connection to the Greek community.

Greek Primary School (Ελληνικό Δημοτικό Σχολείο)

Heybeliada Greek Primary School, 1925 (Source: Heybeliada: Halki Dimonosos by Akillas Millas, 2019)

Outside of Greek Orthodox institutions, the Greek Primary School played an important role in fostering adequate education among community members. Based in the Ayios Yeorgios Monastery constructed in the sixteenth century, the primary school was built in 1849 by Loannis Kalfa. In 1894, the great earthquake significantly damaged the building and motivated Greek community members of Heybeliada to continue education through home-schooling. Greek women living in Heybeliada, such as Smaro Nano and Katina Laskaraki, opened private home schools during the reconstruction period of the primary school. This hiatus lasted until 1907, when D. Panayotidis rebuilt the school. One year later, the building was dedicated to the Greek Orthodox church in 1908.

Their Monastery of Ayios Yeorgios, by Ioannikios Karacas around 1758, engraving by Thomas Allom (Source: Heybeliada: Halki Dimonosos by Akillas Millas, 2019)

Famous Greek author and intellectual, Skarlatos D. Byzantios, recorded observations of Heybeliada in his book Constantinople. Published in 1862, the second volume details environmental and social information of the island including the ruins of a Byzantine windmill on Kutrulomilos, or Mill Hill. In his overview of Heybeliada, Akillas Millas expands on Byzantios’ study in great detail–from the medieval inhabitants of the island to its present condition. 

References

Abdullah Fréres, photographer. View of the Princes Islands / Abdullah Frères. Heybeli Turkey Istanbul Ili, None. [Between 1880 and 1893] Photograph.

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