Princes' Islands

The Princes' Islands (; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", , Pringiponisia), officially just Adalar; alternatively the Princes' Archipelago; is an archipelago off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, in the Sea of Marmara. The islands constitute the municipality and district of Adalar within Istanbul Province. With a total land area of , it is the fifth smallest district in Istanbul, and with a permanent population of 16,690 (2022), it is by far the least populous district in Istanbul. Etymology There are several references to the islands in the ancient Greek period, when they went by the name, often transliterated as Demonesi or Demonisi. During the Middle Byzantine period the archipelago has been recorded by the 6th century lexicographer Hesychius of Alexandria as, meaning "demon's islands" in Medieval Greek. In 1795 German cartographer Franz Ludwig Güssefeld recorded the islands under the name Papadónisi, meaning "priest's islands". The modern name of the island chain comes from the name of the biggest island, Büyükada (Prinkipo in Greek), which supplanted the older names and become the new name for the whole archipelago. According to Sevan Nişanyan there has not been a historical proper name for the islands in the Turkish language. History