Turkish tourists can now easily visit nearby Greek islands

For years, Ahmet Bayrakli could only gaze at the Greek island of Samos from his hometown of Kusadasi on Turkey’s western coast. Despite being just 1,650 meters apart at their closest point, he was unable to visit without obtaining a full Schengen visa, a process that has become increasingly difficult for Turks. However, since April, a new “gate” visa has allowed Turks to stay on ten Greek islands, including Samos, for up to seven days. Mr. Bayrakli is among tens of thousands who have taken advantage of this opportunity.

“It was absurd before—this is our neighbor,” he remarked while waiting in line for the morning ferry, which takes 90 minutes to cross from Kusadasi to Samos Town, the island’s capital.

The gate visa, agreed upon at the end of last year, is a result of improving relations between Athens and Ankara. For years, the two nations have been embroiled in disputes over maritime borders in the Aegean, gas rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, refugees, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s penchant for converting Byzantine-era churches in Turkey into mosques. While these issues remain unresolved, both Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have recognized that friendship offers greater benefits. “The cost of geopolitical tension was considerable,” notes Galip Dalay, a fellow at Chatham House, a London-based think tank.

In person, Greeks and Turks typically get along well. They share similar music, cuisine, and drinking cultures, and the Samian dialect of Greek contains many Turkish words. Political disputes and the pandemic have negatively impacted tourism businesses on both sides, as they depend heavily on the flow of visitors between the islands and the Turkish coast.

Turkey’s persistently high inflation rate, which reached 75% in May, has made Greek holidays, once more expensive than Turkish ones, economically more appealing. However, obtaining a gate visa is still costly for Turks: €60 ($65), only slightly cheaper than a full Schengen visa, and they must also purchase travel insurance for their time in Greece. Not all Samos businesses are convinced they will benefit. As one artisan who sells ceramics from his village workshop put it, “The Turks are coming, but they don’t have money.”