The Princes Islands

Off the coast of Istanbul, in the Marmara Sea, lie the Princes' Islands. An archipelago of unusual natural beauty, they have long been considered the maritime suburb of the imperial capital on the Bosporus and effectively shaped by its manifold history. Exploring the islands' history, landscape, and culture with poetic verve, Joachim Sartorius draws a loving portrait of this microcosm of Byzantine, Ottoman, and Turkish identity and of the myriad characters who call it home.