Orak Island is an Aegean island in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

The island faces

Foça Foça is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 251 km2, and its population is 34,946 (2022). The town of Foça is situated at about northwest of İzmir's city center on the Aegean Sea, Aege ...

(Phokaia of the antiquity) in the

gulf of İzmir The Gulf of İzmir (), formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the Karaburun Peninsula and the mainland area of Foça. It is in length by in breadth, with an excellent anchorage. The city of İz ...

at . Its distance to coast is about . The longer (north to south) dimension of the island is . The name of the island ''orak'' ("sickle") refers to spit to the south of the island. It has been speculated that the ancient name of the island might be "Bakkheion".Archaeology page
/ref> According to surface survey of Professor Ömer Özyiğit, the island was inhabited during the classical age up to

Late Roman Empire In historiography, the Late or Later Roman Empire, traditionally covering the period from 284 CE to 641 CE, was a time of significant transformation in Roman governance, society, and religion. Diocletian's reforms, including the establishment of t ...

era. There were three stone pits. One of them was probably a cult center of the goddess

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...

References

{{Islands of Turkey Islands of Turkey Islands of İzmir Province Foça District Aegean islands Gulf of İzmir