Ayazma Monastery
Ayazma comes from the Greek word "hagiasme", meaning holy water. This name is given to places with natural water resources in many regions of Turkey. Bozcaada's holy spring is located in the south of the island. There is a double fluted historical fountain, an 8-year-old plane tree, a small monastery and 2 single-storey buildings here.
The monastery belonging to the Greek Orthodox community in Ayazma was built in the name of the Greek Saint Aya Paraskevi and bears her name. There are only 5 churches established in the name of this saint in Istanbul. The monastery, which was built by Manolaki Manolidis in 1734, is only open to worship on special occasions.
The monastery is a special place with its shady area formed by huge plane trees and its constantly flowing fountain. There is also a legend that those who drink water from the fountain here will become islanders. The restaurant-café, which was opened in the garden of the monastery by an island Greek family in the summer of 2014, will allow you to experience this wonderful atmosphere to the fullest.
The Greek Aya Paraskevi day, celebrated on July 26, is one of the days when the monastery is opened for worship. This day, when a large crowd gathers and has fun in Ayazma, is called Ayazma Fair among the people.
There is a wishing cave in the lower part of the monastery. Here, visitors light candles and take vows, making shapes from stones and bushes to symbolize their wishes. In fact, the stones stacked on top of each other in the cave describe the dreams of houses and cars.
By the way, when you think of monasteries, don't think of large buildings where religious officials are in seclusion. The Greeks called the small churches they founded far from the settlements as monasteries. It is said that there were 36 monasteries in Bozcaada at that time. Today, only 2 of them are standing, the others are in ruins.
