The watch towers and the walls of the Pigeon Island or also known as Guvercin Ada were constructed in the Byzantine period and kept their importance during the Ottoman period. Pigeon Island was an observation point for the assaults coming from the nearby islands.
Besides, Pigeon Island Castle was named as “Pirate Castle” amongst the public as it was used against the pirates. Migratory birds nested here from time to time. This instance gave another name to the island, and it is also called as “bird island”. Local governor Ozer Turk wanted this little island to be called as the Pigeon Island in 1962 and thus it was officially renamed.
The castle was planned for defense with cannons against the offshore assaults. The footraces show that this place was used not only for cannon defense but also for grapples. This place was suitable for the garrison to survive even if the city fell into the hands of the enemy. The castle walls are made up of stones and redbrick. The tower in the center of the castle rests on a cistern. The thickness of the walls is between 2.40 and 3.10 meters and the tower was designed to have the rain water drain into the cistern. The blank inscription above the entrance gate in the southwest shows that it is an addition of a later time. The Ottoman inscription in the left wall of the entrance gate is dated to 1826.
Pigeon Island has not been a real island for a long time — a stone causeway joins it to the Kuşadası seafront, so you simply walk across, and the whole circuit takes about twenty minutes. Kuşadası is my home town; I am Hasan Gülday, a licensed guide here since 2008, and this is the walk I take when I want to think. Go late in the afternoon. You are looking out over open Aegean, with the long grey ridge of Samos lying off to the south-west, its nearest cape about twenty kilometres away. From roughly November to February the sun goes down behind it; in high summer it sets further north, out over open water.
Tour Guide for Pigeon Island in Kusadasi
Pigeon Island is the symbol of Kusadasi. Also, the island is in the Tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and we all hope that soon it will be accepted. Guvercinada or Pigeon island is a just couple of minutes walking distance from Kusadasi Cruise Port and can easily be visited. Contact me to learn more about Pigeon Island and Kusadasi and to hire an English-speaking professional licensed tour guide in Kusadasi, Turkey. See you soon, Hasan Gülday.
