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In Sait Faik's Footsteps on Burgazada
Cultural

In Sait Faik's Footsteps on Burgazada

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Burgazada is the third largest of the Princes' Islands. Almost round and about two kilometres across, it has a single hill, Bayrak Tepesi, and most ferries call here after Kınalıada. This trip is about one island and the writer whose name has become almost a synonym for it.

Adalar, İstanbul
Cultural
Radar Editör
September 24, 2026

About Trip

Burgazada is the third largest of the Princes' Islands. Almost round and about two kilometres across, it has a single hill, Bayrak Tepesi, and most ferries call here after Kınalıada. This trip is about one island and the writer whose name has become almost a synonym for it. Sait Faik Abasıyanık's house is now a museum, the pier of his fishermen is still in place, and at Kalpazankaya, on the western tip, the sun still sets over the open sea.

Getting there

Şehir Hatları ferries and private motorboats from Bostancı serve Burgazada. Sources put the crossing at about half an hour by motorboat from Bostancı and about an hour by ferry from Kabataş. Timetables change by season and day of the week, so check the current schedule. There are no private motor vehicles; people walk, cycle or use electric vehicles, and the horse-drawn carriages were withdrawn in 2020. The İETT electric line BU-1 runs between the village centre (Çarşı) and Kalpazankaya.

Sait Faik and Burgaz

Sait Faik was born in Adapazarı in 1906. According to the life chronology published by the museum, when the family moved to Istanbul and lived in Şehzadebaşı, they began renting summer houses, first in Yakacık and then on Burgazada. The house on Burgazada was bought in August 1938; his father Mehmet Faik Bey died in it on 29 October that year. From then on Sait Faik spent winters in the family flat in Şişli and summers on the island with his mother, Makbule Hanım. After falling ill in 1945 he spent most of his days on Burgazada; the illness was confirmed as cirrhosis in 1948.

Island life went straight into his stories. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam notes that 169 of his 206 stories are told in the first person and that many are about people who live from the sea. Accounts of him often mention his days with the island's fishermen and shopkeepers. Sixteen of the nineteen stories in Son Kuşlar (The Last Birds, 1952) are set on Burgaz. Stories such as Haritada Bir Nokta, Yaşayacak and Pay describe how the fishermen worked together, while Sivriada Geceleri and Sivriada Sabahı portray them as individuals. In Haritada Bir Nokta the narrator says, "If I hadn't written, I would have gone mad"; that tension between loving the island and needing to write sums up the mood of the book.

He also signed some pieces as Adalı, "the islander". A small caveat: the pen name does not always point to Burgaz, sometimes it refers to Adapazarı, where he was born. In 1953 he was made an honorary member of the International Mark Twain Society in the United States. He died on 11 May 1954 and was buried in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.

The house on Çayır Sokak

The museum is at Çayır Sokak No. 15 on Burgazada. After Sait Faik's death his mother, in a will dated 8 November 1954, left the house and the rights to his works to the Darüşşafaka Society on condition that it become a museum. Behind this lies a visit the writer made in 1954 to a literary matinee at Darüşşafaka High School; he was so moved by the school that he suggested to his mother that they leave their property to it. The museum opened on 22 August 1959 and has been run by Darüşşafaka since 1964. It closed in 2009 for strengthening and restoration and reopened on 11 May 2013. In line with the writer's wishes, entry is free.

Inside are belongings, photographs, letters and postcards that witnessed his life. The house has a basement, a ground floor and two upper floors. The basement holds a reading and screening area, the ground floor a dining room and a guest room. On the first floor are the bedroom, the study and two rooms on his life story; the second floor has a section on Burgazada and the room of letters. Leave the letters for last; it is like leaving the house after hearing his voice.

The opening caused a stir: Orhan Seyfi Orhon asked why, among so many writers, Sait Faik came first, and Aziz Nesin replied that such a museum was a pioneer. In 2014 a research workshop working on archives and digitisation was set up in the house.

One clause of his mother's will is still alive. The Sait Faik Story Award, given every year to a short story writer, has been awarded since 1955 and organised by Darüşşafaka since 1964. Every May, around the anniversary of his death, a commemoration is held on the island; in recent years it has begun in front of the statue on the pier square. The statue, by sculptor Çağdaş Erçelik, was put up there on the 58th anniversary of his death.

From the pier to Kalpazankaya

After the museum, follow the shore towards the western tip. As the Adalar Municipality describes it, walking east from the pier brings you to the island's old beach and to a cape reaching towards Heybeliada with a small light at its tip. South of the beach is Mezarlık Burnu; round the rock there and you reach the south coast, where Bayrak Tepesi rises from the sea like a wall. Keep following the coast in the same direction and you come to Kalpazankaya. The small cove beside it is one of the island's walking spots, and Madam Marta Cove lies to its south.

Kalpazankaya takes its name from kalpazan, a counterfeiter; the story goes that forged coins were once struck here. This west-facing end of the island is a favourite place to watch the sunset. You look west over open water, towards Sivriada, the westernmost of the islands; these rocks are the easiest place to match the sea of his Sivriada stories with the real one. If you are tired, the BU-1 line will take you back.

The quiet fabric of the island

The island's old name is Antigoni, after Antigonus, a general of Alexander the Great said to have built a fort here; Burgaz is thought to come from the Greek pyrgos, tower. In the 17th century Evliya Çelebi described a small fort on the shore rocks, houses with vineyards and gardens, and a population of seafarers.

Today the pleasure begins a few streets in from the pier. The municipality notes that the finest wooden mansions are on Gezinti Caddesi along the shore and on Gönüllü and Mehtap streets on the slope facing Kaşıkadası and Heybeliada. The slopes are covered with Turkish red pine; islanders joined the replanting that began after the forest fire of 2003. There was no mosque on the island until 1953, when a small one was built on land given by the municipality to mark the 500th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul. The 2025 count puts the population at 1,713; the island has one face in winter and another in summer.

A suggested walk

Stop at the statue on the pier square, then walk inland to the museum and see the house without hurrying. Afterwards drop down to the shore through the mansions on Gönüllü and Mehtap streets. In the afternoon head for the old beach, Mezarlık Burnu and the south coast, and wait for sunset at Kalpazankaya. Return on the BU-1 line, or on foot while it is still light. Looking up the places you pass in the book is the small game of this trip.

Season and timing

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for both walking and the museum. Come in May and you may catch the commemoration; Darüşşafaka and the Adalar Municipality announce the date. If you want the sunset at Kalpazankaya, find out the time of the last ferry back beforehand, as evening sailings can be limited. In summer, walk in the morning or late afternoon rather than at midday.

Practical notes

  • The museum's official website lists opening days as Wednesday to Sunday; it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Check hours and holiday closures on the website before you go.
  • Groups of ten or more need an appointment.
  • The museum's website has a virtual tour.
  • Do not smoke or light fires on the wooded slopes.
  • Bring water and good shoes; the island is small but hilly.
  • Take Son Kuşlar with you and read a story on the pier while you wait for the ferry.

Sources

Location - In Sait Faik's Footsteps on Burgazada

Trip Info
CityAdalar, İstanbul
TypeCultural
DateSeptember 24, 2026
SourceRadar Editör
Radar TürkiyeAuthorRadar TürkiyeVisit SourceGet Directions