North Aegean islands

A Russian naval cruiser had to cast anchor due to strong currents and bad weather in Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on Jan. 6, according to a Turkish security source.

The Slava-class Marshal Ustinov anchored off the neighborhood of Moda, on Istanbul's Asian side, since conditions did not allow for it to dock, said the source.

Over 1,000 asylum applicants will be transferred from islands of the northeastern Aegean to the mainland in the next three days, according to sources speaking to state-run Athens-Macedonian News Agency.
The refugees will all be distributed to hotels throughout Greece, the same sources said.

Ann Abel, a travel columnist for the renowned U.S.-based Forbes magazine, has recently penned an article on one of Turkey's attraction spots, Bozcaada, dubbing it as a "secret Aegean island paradise."

Further escalating regional tensions, Turkey on Tuesday issued four navigational telexes (navtexes), reserving areas in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean for naval exercises with live ammunition.

Turkish fighter jets on Friday violated Greek national airspace in the northeastern Aegean 13 times, Greek defense sources said.
The four Turkish F-16s also entered the Athens Flight Information Region four times before first submitting a flight plan.

Another 649 migrants and refugees reached the islands of the northeastern Aegean in the past two days, based on data released by the region's police directorate on Tuesday.

Of those, 377 arrived at Lesvos, 244 reached Chios and 28 went to Samos.

With oak and chestnut forests, waterfalls and rugged coastline, Samothraki has a wild beauty and a remoteness that sets it apart from other Greek islands.

The death toll from a dinghy carrying 19 people which capsized on Friday morning north of a cluster of islands in the northeastern Aegean has risen to seven, the state-run Athens-Macedonia News Agency reported.
Authorities reportedly said all of the passengers were Turkish citizens.

A total of 3,469 migrants arrived at Greece's northern Aegean islands from the start of September till Friday morning, according to figures published by the region's general police directorate.
Breaking down the numbers, 2,078 foreign nationals arrived on Lesvos, 589 on Chios and 802 on Samos since September 1.

Tourist services in Greece have become cheaper since September 1st, BNR reports. This coincides with the expectations of Greek resorts for a large number of guests from Bulgaria.