Description & Facts: The Princes' Islands (Turkish: Prens Adaları [Prince Islands] or more commonly Kızıl Adalar [Red Islands] or just Adalar as they are officially named; classical Greek: Πριγκήπων νήσοι Prinkēpōn nēsoi, modern Greek: τα Πριγκηπόνη σα ta Prinkiponisa or Πριγκηπονή σια Prinkiponisia), are a chain of nine islands off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, in the Sea of Marmara. They consist of four larger islands, Büyükada (meaning "Large Island"; Greek: Πρίγκηπο(ς) , Prinkipo(s), from πρίγκιπας meaning "prince") with an area of 5.46 km2 (2.11 sq mi), Heybeliada (meaning "Saddlebag Island"; Greek: Χάλκη Halki) with an area of 2.4 km2 (0.93 sq mi), Burgazada (Greek: Αντιγόνη Antigoni, the name of a mythological figure) with an area of 1.5 km2 (0.58 sq mi), Kınalıada (meaning "Henna Island"; Greek: Πρώτη Proti, meaning "First", being the closest island to Istanbul) with an area of 1.3 km2 (0.50 sq mi), and five much smaller ones, Sedef Adası (meaning "Mother-of-Pearl Island"; classical Greek Τερέβινθος Terebinthos and modern Greek: Αντιρόβυθο ς Antirovithos) with an area of 0.157 km2 (0.061 sq mi), Yassıada (meaning "Flat Island"; Greek: Πλάτη Plati) with an area of 0.05 km2 (0.019 sq mi), Sivriada (meaning "Sharp Island"; Greek: Οξειά Oxeia meaning the same) with an area of 0.05 km2 (0.019 sq mi), Kaşık Island (Turkish: Kaşık Adası, "Spoon Island", named for its shape; Greek Πίτα Pita) with an area of 0.006 km2 (0.0023 sq mi), and Tavşanadası (meaning "Rabbit Island"; Greek Νέανδρος Neandros, the name of a mythological figure) with an area of 0.004 km2 (0.0015 sq mi). The islands also constitute one of the districts of Istanbul Province. Tourism : During the summer months the Princes’ Islands are popular destinations for day trips from Istanbul. As there is no traffic on the Islands, the only transport being horse and cart, they are incredibly peaceful compared with the city of Istanbul. They are just a short ferry ride from both the Asian (at Bostancı and also Kartal) and European sides (from Sirkeci/Eminönü, Kabataş and Yenikapı) of Istanbul. Most ferries call in turn at the four largest of the nine islands: Kınalıada, Burgazada, Heybeliada and finally Büyükada. Ferry services are provided by Istanbul Seabuses (İDO), a firm operated by the municipality of Istanbul. In spring and autumn the islands are quieter and more pleasant, although the sea can be rough in spring, autumn and winter, and the islands are sometimes cut off from the outside world when the ferry services are cancelled due to storms and high waves. During winter, with the addition of the biting cold and the strong winds and the resulting ferry cancellations, the islands become almost deserted. History : During the Byzantine period, prince and other royalty were exiled on the islands, and later members of the Ottoman sultans family were exiled there too, lending the islands their present name. They were taken by the Ottoman fleet during the siege of Constantinople in 1453. During the 19th century the islands became a popular resort for Istanbul's wealthy, and Victorian era cottages and houses are still preserved on the largest of the Princes' islands. The Princes' Islands have become more and more ethnically Turkish in character due to the influx of wealthy Turkish jetsetters, a process which began in the first days of the Turkish Republic when the British Yacht Club on Büyükada was appropriated as Anadolu Kulübü, for Turkish parliamentarians to enjoy Istanbul in the summer. However, the Greek, Armenian and Jewish communities still constitute a small part of the islands' population. The islands are an interesting anomaly because they allow for a rare, albeit incomplete, insight into a multicultural society in modern Turkey, possibly alike to the multicultural society that once existed during the Ottoman Empire in places such as nearby Istanbul/Constantinople.