'Queen Valentina Road' reopens after six centuries in northern Turkey

A 250-meter-long road built upon the order of a Greek emperor for his wife in the 1400s has been reopened after a series of restoration works on Imbros Island (Gökçeada in Turkish) in the Aegean province of Çanakkale.

Imbros Mayor Ünal Çetin said there was a plethora of excavations carried out by Hacettepe University?s Science Literature Faculty Archaeology Department and they had started to acquire detailed information about the history of the island, including the recently discovered ?Queen Valentina Road.? 

?This road was built upon the order of the then-emperor, Palamede Gattilusio, for his wife Queen Valentina in around 1440. Queen Valentina always used this road while going to the beach from her house. The road is of great importance for the history of our island, but it was buried for years due to rainfalls and other reasons. The road has been unearthed and renovated by the municipality,? Çetin added. 

After renovating, lighting up and opening the ?Valentine Cafe? at the end of the road, Çetin stated the historical road was ready for use by the residents of the island and tourists. 

?We can now say that everyone living on the island is a queen,? said Çetin.