Tourlida ( el, Τουρλίδα) is an island in

Missolonghi Lagoon The Missolonghi Lagoon ( el, Λιμνοθάλασσα Μεσολογγίου, ''Limnothalassa Mesolongiou'') is a shallow lagoon located in the south of Aetolia-Acarnania, Western Greece. It is connected to the Gulf of Patras, a bay of the Ionian ...

, in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It is a long-narrow earthy land about 5 km south of

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...

. Tourlida is the largest lagoon island of Missolonghi lagoon and the only inhabited. Its population is 15 inhabitants according to 2011 census. A landmark of Tourlida is the houses on piles. They are stilt houses that are built by fishermen. These houses are named Pelades (Πελάδες) in Greek.

History

Tourlida is named after the bird

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred t ...

that is named tourlida in Greek and it is common in lagoon. The island was joined with the opposite land with a road that was constructed in 1885 thanks to domestic politician

Charilaos Trikoupis Charilaos Trikoupis ( el, Χαρίλαος Τρικούπης; 11 July 1832 – 30 March 1896) was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. He is best remembered for introducing the vote of c ...

. The road created an interior lagoon inside

, known as Kleisova Lagoon. The most common activity in the island is the fishing as well as the gathering of salt from the nearby salt pit.

Historical population

References

{{reflist

External links

Tourlida in gtp.gr
Islands of Greece Missolonghi Populated places in Aetolia-Acarnania