Gökçeada: Greek heritage celebrated during Feast of the Assumption

Every August 15, the Turkish island of Gökçeada, formerly known as Imbros, serves as a gathering point for the Greek diaspora and their families to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. The annual religious services and cultural events highlight the island's deep Greek heritage and spark discussions regarding the preservation of this history.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the 86-year-old leader of the Greek Orthodox Church, returns to his birthplace annually to preside over the traditional liturgy. Gökçeada and the neighboring island of Bozcaada were notably exempt from the 1923 population exchange between Turkey and Greece mandated by the Treaty of Lausanne, allowing Greek populations to remain.

Despite this exemption, regional tensions—particularly those surrounding the Cyprus conflict in the 1960s and 1970s—impacted social life on the island. For former residents like 77-year-old Dino Haimandos, who left during those periods of instability, the island remains a place of profound personal connection and childhood roots.