Kara Ada (Bodrum)

This article is about the island in the Gulf of Bodrum. For other islands, see Kara Ada (disambiguation).

36°58′26″N 27°27′45″E

The island seen from West

Kara Ada (literally "Black island" in Turkish) is a small Turkish island at the entrance of the harbor of Bodrum in the Aegean Sea.^[1] It is a popular tourist destination, particularly for yachting.

History

The ancient Greeks called it Arkonnesos (Ancient Greek: Ἀρκόνησος).^[2] During the Siege of Halicarnassus by Alexander the Great, some of the Persian troops withdrew to the island after they first set fire to the Halicarnassus.^[3]

In the Middle Ages the island, which the Greeks know under the name of Arkos,^[1] was taken over by the Knights of St. John Hospitaller, who also occupied Bodrum.^[4] It was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. In 1919 it was occupied by the Italians together with Bodrum.^[4] The 1932 Convention between Italy and Turkey assigned it to Turkey.^[5]