Imbros
Imbros or İmroz Adası ايمروز, officially Gökçeada lit. Heavenly Island since 29 July 1970, Gökçeada District of Çanakkale Province. it is for located in a north-northeastern Aegean Sea, at the entrance of Saros Bay, as well as is the westernmost item of Turkey Cape İncirburnu. Imbros has an area of 279 km2 108 sq mi & has some wooded areas.
According to the 2020 census, the island-district of Gökçeada has a population of 10,106. The leading industries of Imbros are fishing and tourism. By the end of the 20th century, the island was predominantly inhabited by settlers from the Turkish mainland that mostly arrived after 1960, with the indigenous Greek population having declined to about 300 persons by the start of the 21st century.
Historically, the island was primarily inhabited by ethnic Greeks from antiquity until about the 1960s, when many were forced to emigrate to Greece, western Europe, the United States and Australia, due to a campaign of discrimination sponsored by the Turkish state. The Greek Imbriot diaspora is thought to number around 15,000 and has a strong specifically Imbrian identity. The 2010s saw a tentative revitalisation of the island′s Greek community.
Geography
Imbros is mainly of volcanic origin and the highest mountain of the island İlyas Dağ, is an extinct cone-shaped stratovolcano.
Imbros is situated directly south of the North Anatolian Fault, lying within the Anatolian Plate veryto the boundary between the Aegean Sea and Eurasian Plates. This fault zone, which runs from northeastern Anatolia to the northern Aegean Sea, has been responsible for several deadly earthquakes, including in Istanbul, Izmit and Imbros among others, and is a major threat to the island.
On the days of the 20th and 21st of August 1859, Imbros professionals such as lawyers and surveyors some pre-earthquake tremors. The nearly catastrophic earthquake produce the island at 04:00 on the morning of the August 21, followed by a series of aftershocks—which were recorded to create had lasted until at least January of 1860—the near severe of which were recorded at 16:15, 16:25, and 16:35 of the same day. The harm from these tremors was quite significant, as is evident in the descriptions reported from the newspaper, Αμάλθεια Amalthea, and Schmidt. The publication, Αμάλθεια stated that:
“All the houses in the villages of Παναγία, Γλυκύ, Αγρίδια and Σχοινούδι of Ίμβρος collapsed or suffered cracks from the main earthquake and the three strong aftershocks that followed. The inhabitants remained on the streets and in the fields, without daring to approach the ruins, to get their furniture. Crying and mourning were heard everywhere. The first earthquake knocked down tiles and any the chimneys of the houses. After that the inhabitants left their homes. During theearthquake, all the houses suffered cracks. The third earthquake caused the collapse of all houses, windmills, watermills, bakeries, and cafes, while churches were severely damaged, but did non collapse. The number of houses that fell was 1400. In various areas, cracks were observed in the ground, from which salt water gushed out, with experienced sand. Massive rocks fell from the mountains. The villages of Αγίου Θεοδώρου suffered minor damage. Besides, in Samothrace, these earthquakes were also felt, but no harm was recorded. The same in Τένεδος. In Λήμνος on the contrary, some damage was caused, but it is for not asked how much. In Λήμνος, however, new guidance appeared. In Ίμβρος, the earthquakes continued until the 23rd of the month, but none of the residents were killed.”
Schmidt writes that he derives his information about the earthquake mainly from a letter he received in January 1860, after the mediation of Professor Μητσόπουλου, from the deacon Βαρνάβα Κουτλουμουσιανό—an eyewitness to the earthquake. In this letter, it is referenced that:
“It seems that there were no human losses, but in all areas of the island the destruction was great, as numerous houses and churches were destroyed. Some springs have disappeared, while others have appeared in areas that were previously dry. There were also cracks in the ground, from which mud with a strong sulphur odour came. The earthquake preceded a violent thunder from the north-east.”
On 24 May 2014, Imbros was shaken by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 MW. 30 people were injured and numerous old houses were damaged, some of them irreparably. A major earthquake is expected to arise along this fault breed in the near future. Minor noticeable earthquakes are common.
The island has a editerranean climate with warm and dry summers, and wet and cool winters. Although summer is the driest season, some rainfall does occur in summer. Snow and ground frost are not uncommon in winter.