Bozcaada Events

Bozcaada Wine Tasting Days

last weekend of June

The reputation of Bozcaada as an island of wine intensifies each year. Every year the last weekend of June has been chosen for this event, which was held for the first time in the summer of 2005. Support is given by the island’s wine manufacturers, district officials and the Municipality.

All through these vivacious three days, the streets of the island, which smell of grapes and wine, are filled with a sweet excitement. People gather in front of wine stores, some even sing and dance. People drink wine as they talk about wine.

A glass of wine will accompany you as you sit around the fire in a magnificent cove, or in a Vivaldi concert given in an ancient wine house, or as you listen to live Gypsy music on one of the streets of the island.

The wine tasting days are a good excuse to visit the island while it is still not very crowded.

Bozcaada Aya Paraskevi Day

26th July

The 26 of July are the days when the Greeks get together to celebrate the Holy Paraskevi. It is also known as the Ayazma Fair.

You must visit this place with its double-spouted historical fountain, its eight gigantic plane trees and the small chapel. Many Greeks from abroad come to the island for this festival every year. Some are old residents of the island while others are young Greeks who are curious about their origins. Sirtaki is danced to the music of groups coming from Greece. Priests come from Istanbul or Gökçeada.

All through the day, a local restaurant owner offers a buffet and drinks in honour of the occasion. The joyful crowd eats at the wooden tables placed in the centre of the square, accompanied by the island wine and they dance to the traditional music. The priest rings the bell when it time for people to attend the service.

The Turks who have lived side by side with the Greeks for many years don’t abandon them on this special day and attend the ceremony with equal enthusiasm. You must stop by to witness how these two cultures fuse with each other as they breathe the air of this joyous atmosphere…

Bozcaada The Day of the Poet and Iliad Readings

first weekend of August

This event, which has been taking place on the first weekend of each August , was initiated by the personal endeavours of the famous Turkish journalist Haluk Sahin. It has already become a traditional festival.

Each year a different poet is invited for this gathering. One of the well-known Turkish poet will lead those who love poetry. Not only will people get a chance to listen to poet’s poetry read by himself but they will also have the chance to hear Homer’s world famous epic Iliad, the story of which passes in Troy, read in various languages.

It is not a coincidence that Bozcaada is chosen for this activity. It is situated right opposite the ancient Troy, on Hisarlik Hill. Bozcaada was a shelter for the Acheans from the Trojans all through the Trojan war. Even when the famous Trojan horse trick was being carried out the Achaean fleet waited for the sign from the opposite bank to arrive in a harbour behind on the rear part of the island.

The Iliad readings start with dawn in Troy. The crowd gets together in harmony with the early morning calm waiting for the reading to continue from where it stopped the year before.

Bozcaada Vintage Festival

first weekend of September

'Bagbozumu' (vintage) is the name given to grape harvest. August and September are the months of the grape harvest. The grape harvest festival, prepared by the Bozcaada Municipality each year on the first weekend of September has become a traditional celebration on the island.

The festival, which continues for 2 days, starts with a symbolical grape harvest in the vineyards of the island’s wine makers. People get on tractors together with the vineyard labourers to go to the vineyards. There, people learn the details of grape harvesting and collect the grapes together. The harvested grapes are put in panniers carried to the ceremony area on donkey back and by horse and carriage for the sake of the old days as well as by tractors. After the opening ceremony, grapes are distributed to the public.

Throughout the festivals wine makers offer their wines to be tasted at the stands they have opened for this occasion. Many concerts are given at the castle. What’s more, two contests are prepared as part of the festival. One of them is for choosing the grape beauty among the young girls of the island, and the other one is for choosing the tastiest sweet white grape (cavus) of the island.