Marmara Islands Travel Guide — Things to Do, Food & Hotels
district and town of Balıkesir, Turkey
About Marmara Islands
A series of great geological fault lines traverse this region and are still active. Further south they threw up the mountain chain along the mainland coast, where geothermal hot springs gush from the slopes. The North Anatolian Fault pulled apart the earth's crust 2.5 million years ago to create a basin which flooded to become the Sea of Marmara; in recent times its tremors devastated cities such as Iznik. Mountains born of its ructions are now a group of islands in that sea. The limestone bedrock became seared into marble, in Greek "marmara" and long-prized as building and decorative material. And thus were named the sea and Marmara Islands. The sea was also called Propontis, "fore sea", meaning the one you cross before reaching the Black Sea. The largest island became connected to the ma
Marmara Islands Travel Guide Sections
Our comprehensive guide covers 10 sections including: