Heybeliada: the village, the naval school, the closed seminary
The quieter Princes' Island — pine forest, the Naval Academy, and Halki Seminary at the summit, closed since 1971. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Heybeliada İskelesi
Ferries from Eminönü, Kabataş, Bostancı and Kadıköy serve the pier; the schedule is sparser than the Üsküdar shuttle, so check before committing. No cars on the island — the village starts the moment you step off.

2. The village quarter
Wooden houses around the harbour, bakeries doing simit and the Adalar almond paste (badem ezmesi), cafés with sea-facing benches. Walk slowly — there's no traffic to dodge and the buildings are the show.

3. Heybeliada Deniz Lisesi (Naval Academy)
On the eastern point of the island. The 19th-c stone buildings host the Turkish Navy's high-school boarding programme; the campus itself is closed to visitors, but the perimeter coastal walk is open and the buildings carry the discipline of their era from outside.

4. The pine forest path up Ümit Tepesi
Heybeliada's northern hill — Ümit Tepesi means Hope Hill. The path climbs through pine forest cleared by old carriage track. About thirty minutes to the summit at a relaxed pace; the gradient is the island's hardest single stretch.

5. Halki Seminary (Heybeliada Ruhban Okulu)
The Greek Orthodox theological school the Ecumenical Patriarchate ran from 1844 until 1971, when a Turkish law nationalising private higher education forced it shut. The building is intact, the chapel still consecrated, the grounds open to visitors. The institution remains closed — a real diplomatic point, half a century unresolved.

6. Back to Heybeliada İskelesi
Same path down, faster than up. The ferry back to Kabataş or Eminönü is a slow Marmara crossing — sixty to ninety minutes depending on the route. Watch the islands recede behind you.

Heybeliada: the village, the naval school, the closed seminary