Mardaliç Island (also called "Corci Island" tr, Mardaliç Adası) is an
Aegean island of
Turkey.
Location
The island at is a part of
Dikili ilçe (district) of
İzmir Province. The island faces Narlıdere Bay in mainland
Anatolia. Its distance to the nearest point of the mainland is about . The island measures 2.1 square kilometres.
History
In antiquity, the island was known as Elaiousa Erythraion.
In the 14th century the island was a part of the
Republic of Genoa.
Francesco I Gattilusio
Francesco I Gattilusio (died 6 August 1384) was the first member of the Gattilusio family to rule the Aegean island of Lesbos as a vassal of the Byzantine emperor.
Freebooter
The Gattilusio family came from the Republic of Genoa. The parents of F ...
and his successors controlled
Lesbos and the smaller islands around like Mardaliç for about a century. In 1462
Mahmut Pasha of the
Ottoman Empire captured the island. But soon the island became a pirates' island. Especially Georgia Maria from the island
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
who allied himself with the
Republic of Venice became a big problem for the people living in the coastal area of west Anatolia. In the 17th century the Ottoman navy recaptured the island.
Denziköy -Dikili page
/ref> Corci, the alternative name of the island is a corrupt form of the name Georgia.
The island today
The island is uninhabited. But there are some ruins from the Genoa era. The most important ruin is an observation tower. Birds such as sea gull
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
and partridge as well as some snakes and lizards make up the fauna of the island. Olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
, thyme and scale fern are some of the plants.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mardaliç Island
Aegean islands
Islands of Turkey
Islands of Ä°zmir Province
Dikili District