Imbros
Imbros (Greek: Ίμβρος, romanized: Ímvros;[2] Turkish: İmroz; Ottoman Turkish: ايمروز), officially Gökçeada (lit. 'Heavenly Island') since 29 July 1970,[3][4] is the largest island of Turkey, located in Çanakkale Province. It is located in the north-northeastern Aegean Sea, at the entrance of Saros Bay, and has the westernmost point of Turkey (Cape İncirburnu). Imbros has an area of 286.8 km2 (110.7 sq mi),[5] and has some wooded areas.[6]
This article is about the island. For other uses, see Imbros (disambiguation).
Native name: Gökçeada
İmroz
İmroz
As of 2022, the island-district of Gökçeada has a population of 10,348.[1] The main industries of Imbros are fishing and tourism. By the end of the 20th century, the island was predominantly inhabited by settlers from the Turkish mainland that mostly arrived after 1960,[7] with the indigenous Greek population having declined to about 300 persons by the start of the 21st century.[8]
Historically, the island was primarily inhabited by ethnic Greeks[3] since the Iron Age until approximately the 1960s, when many were forced to emigrate to Greece as well as to Western Europe, the United States and Australia, due to a campaign of discrimination and ethnic cleansing sponsored by the governments of İsmet İnönü.[3][8][9][10] The Greek Imbriot diaspora is thought to number around 15,000 globally and in Turkey, and has a strong special Imbrian identity.[8][7] The 2010s saw a tentative revitalisation of the island's remaining Greek community.[11]
History[edit]
In mythology[edit]
According to Greek mythology, the palace of Thetis, mother of Achilles, king of Phthia, was situated between Imbros and Samothrace.