Greece and Turkey are neighboring countries with a shared history spanning centuries. Despite some tensions, their proximity facilitates significant travel and exchange between the two. Several Greek islands lie just off the Turkish coast, making ferry travel convenient. Even major cities like Athens and Istanbul are only separated by a few hundred miles.
Greek Islands Closest to Turkey
Many of Greece’s Aegean islands lie quite close to the Turkish mainland. The Dodecanese and Northeastern Aegean islands are the Greek island groups in closest proximity.
Some key islands near Turkey include
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Samos – Just 1 mile from Turkey at its closest point. The port of Vathy is only 5 miles from Kuşadası, Turkey.
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Chios – Situated just 5 miles from Çeşme, Turkey Ferries connect Chios to mainland Turkey
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Lesvos – Approximately 5.5 miles from Ayvalık, Turkey. Regular ferry service operates between Lesvos and Ayvalık.
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Kos – Around 6 miles from Bodrum Turkey. Fast catamaran ferries link Kos with Bodrum in around 30 minutes.
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Rhodes – Approximately 19 miles across sea from Marmaris, Turkey. High-speed catamarans connect Rhodes and Marmaris.
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Leros – Only 10 miles from Turkey’s Datça Peninsula. Has ferry links to the Turkish coastal town of Fethiye.
This close proximity facilitates easy island-hopping between Greece and Turkey. Island-mainland distances range from just a couple miles to around 20 miles.
Athens to Istanbul Distance
The air distance between Athens, Greece and Istanbul, Turkey is approximately 670 miles. By road, the distance spans around 850 miles.
Athens and Istanbul are the largest and most globally connected cities in each country. Despite not sharing a direct land border, their relatively close proximity has long facilitated trade, transport, and cultural exchange.
Major airlines offer direct flights between the cities in around 2 hours of flight time. The cities are also connected by regular high-speed ferry service that covers the distance in around 12 hours.
Greece-Turkey Land Border
While Athens and Istanbul are separated by sea, Greece and Turkey do share an extensive land border along the Maritsa/Evros River in northeastern Greece.
The land border between Greece and Turkey stretches 120 miles across Thrace. It spans from the Aegean Sea to the point where Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria meet.
Several border crossings along the Maritsa/Evros river connect the two countries. The main crossings are at Kipi/Kipoi, Kastanies/Pazarkule, and Ivaylovgrad/Kiprinos.
This border region has strategic significance and has occasionally been a flashpoint in Greek-Turkish relations. But the land border facilitates trade and travel by road between the two countries as well.
Greek-Turkish Ferry Connections
Frequent ferry service links several Greek islands with Turkish coastal cities like Çeşme, Bodrum, Marmaris, Datça, and Fethiye. The close proximity makes short island-mainland crossings convenient.
Some major Greek-Turkey ferry routes include:
- Piraeus (Athens) to Çeşme/Izmir
- Samos to Kuşadası
- Chios to Çeşme
- Lesvos to Ayvalık
- Rhodes to Marmaris
- Kos to Bodrum
Journeys range from around 30 minutes for the shortest island-mainland links up to 12 hours for the overnight Piraeus to Çeşme route.
There are also international cruise ships that stop at Greek and Turkish ports during Eastern Mediterranean itineraries.
Travel Between Greece and Turkey
The proximity between Greece and Turkey enables over 5 million travelers to visit between the countries each year. Tourism and visiting relatives drive much of this movement.
Turkish resort towns are popular vacation destinations for Greeks seeking close beach getaways. Turkey is also a major hub for Greek agricultural exports and trade.
Travel has been complicated at times by political tensions. But proximity ensures connections remain strong in tourism, trade, transport, and culture. These include centuries of shared Greco-Turkish history and customs.
Greece and Turkey’s location side-by-side in the Eastern Mediterranean means intertwined histories and close cross-cultural exchange will persist. Even when official relations experience ups and downs, their geography keeps them linked.
Map Showing the Distance Between Istanbul, Turkey and Athens, Greece
Input the name of the two places in the text boxes and click the Show button.
The recommended format to use is [City, Country] i.e. [City(comma)(space)Country].
Once a result is returned, you can copy a link to use as a permanent referance back to the result or to send on to others.
Note : For ZIP Codes, use Distance Between ZIP Codes, For UK Postcodes, use the UK Postcode distance tool. Also, to find the distance between points that are not named, you can use the Measure Distance tool.
About How Far is it Between
This tool can be used to find the distance between two places.
There are two distances output:
- As the Crow Flies – The direct distance between points
- Distance by land transport (When possible) – Distance estimate when you travel by road and sea.
The distances can be output in the following units:
The output is via a measurement of the distance and also a map that shows that two locations and the path between them as the crow flies and the route by land transport.
You can use the controls on the map to:
- Pan the map
- Zoom the Map
- Switch between Map and Satellite views
Real Reason Turkey is Threatening Greece with War
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