Giresun Adasi

The Island of the Amazons

This one and only island along the whole south coast of the Black Sea is a place of mystic appearance. Even today cultic rites are performed there. It seems that there is a continuity from the Bronze Age till today. It was the sacred island of the Amazons, in the Middle Ages there has been a Byzantine monastery, and today it is a place of pre-Islamic rites. There is the mystic Stone of Hamza where people pray for the fulfillment of their wishes. They place slips of paper containing written wishes into the cracks of the rock. The same rite is also practised by religious Jews at the Wailing Wall (Western Wall) in Jerusalem. Furthermore, every year there is a festival on this island where the women play the leading role.

Giresun Adasi from the distance

the island is rather rocky and thickly wooded

probably the place of worship of the Amazons

the mystic Stone of Hamza

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