Insula Ada-Kaleh - Global Citizenship Summer School (sitios de interés)
Descripción del sitio
Ada Kaleh was a small island that controlled the traffic and trade facilities on the Danube river populated mostly by Turks. The island was conquered by the Turks in 1691 but it was forgotten during the Berlin Agreements of 1878. Because it didn't officially belong to any authority, it was referred to as "No man's Isle." Even though the Ottomans lost the areas surrounding the island during the Russo-Turkish Wars of 1877-1878, it was forgotten during the peace talks and was mostly populated by Turks, therefore remaining under Ottoman sovereignty. The Island was invaded by the Austria-Hungarian Empire in 1913 but this invasion was not accepted by the Ottomans. However, after the big loss of the First World War and the establishment of the new Turkish Republic, the Island was given to Romanian control with the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923. The population mainly lived on fishery, tobacco cultivation, and tourism.Unfortunately, Ada Kaleh was submerged in the waters of the Danube during the construction of the Iron Gate Dam in 1970. Before the island was submerged, the prime minister of Turkey, Suleyman Demirel paid a visit to the island and invited the inhabitants to move to Turkey. Most of the inhabitants then moved to Constanta, Bucharest and the rest accepted Demirel's invitation and moved to Turkey.