Visa trouble, which is one of the biggest obstacles to our rapprochement with Greece, which is next to us, seems to breathe a little with the visa exemption for special passport holders for now. The Turkish people, who have been tortured by visas, have achieved the freedom of travel they have been waiting for years with a visa exemption.
When the unbelievable succession of travels that had been envisioned for days, weeks before with some legal procedures disappeared, people throw themselves on the islands with the spontaneous decisions they made on the same day. .
Chios Island, where we set off to enjoy a visa-free trip, was very familiar as one of the closest geographical points to us among the Greek islands, only 8 nautical miles from Çeşme.
The first in the Greek geography. I am about to show my family to the island, which has an important memory for me as the place where I stepped on, this time, after many years, this time as someone who knows the island. I decided to go.
When we reached the duty-free sales point, which shines with an intelligent glow, we knew that it was time to say goodbye to Turkey.. The customs point at Çeşme Harbor looks very well-maintained, modern and clean compared to many of our border points on the Aegean coast.. When the relaxed attitude and warm relationship of the police officers are added to the work, people are proud of their country…
With the competition between the travel agencies in Çeşme, we can find tickets for 11 euros round trip to the island, which I paid only 25 euros for in 2007.. (The round trip price dropped to 8 euros when we came back from the island…)
Our boat, which is well-maintained and put into service this season to be used on the way to the island, is similar to the boat I came across on my trips between several islands before. When you think of the metal piles, it almost feels like a palace.
A boat belonging to the Greek operators departs with us from Çeşme Port.. It is possible to see how the Turks are interested in daily Chios tours.. A busload of Turkish tourists from various provinces and districts of the Aegean with a tour company go to explore Chios.. The vast majority of tourists enjoy the privilege of being able to travel visa-free with their green passports.
We are observing the center of the island, which is very clearly visible from our boat, which started to move in the sea.. 10-15 minutes after leaving Çeşme, we step into international territorial waters.. Turkish territorial waters are stuck in a very narrow lane because of the Greek islands.. Undoubtedly, Greece is the owner of the islands that benefit most from the blues of the Aegean.. The biggest reason why we call the island Chios, which the Greeks call Xios (Hios) and which was also called Hora in the Ottoman period, is the presence of many Chios trees on the island. One of the biggest reasons is Gum cultivation. Due to the high-income gum plant, people did not spare time for other things for years, as they spent time with the production of chewing gum and chewing gum products…. The island is dying for Turkish tourists to come.
After slowly entering the harbor protected by wave breakers, we enter the customs house, which is in a relatively better condition than the other islands.. As in all European Union countries, transactions of citizens of the EU and other countries are carried out at separate banks.. When we, as a very crowded Turkish group, are loaded into the non-EU counter, other empty counters are opened to serve us.
While waiting for the passport procedures to be completed with the crowd, tourism brochures prepared in Turkish attract my attention.. Brochures prepared in sketchy Turkish are one of the biggest indicators of how much Chios’ view towards Turks and Turkey has changed. and it is an honor to come across brochures.
We have no choice but to wait for our passport to be stamped in order to rediscover the island on a quiet Sunday…
We are very close to discovering Chios once again…
