As part of the The Great South Eastern European Border Expedition (GSEEBE) in 2005 9 members of IBRG visited the tripoint between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. This tripoint is located on the external border of the EU and also between 2 countries who have long established histories of mistrust. Then as now, this area needed special permission to visit and the group approached the Turkish officials who agreed to host the visit.

Although this was a group of border enthusiasts with no official status the Turkish authorities afforded the group official VIP status and were very gracious hosts, organising a welcome meal, security and an official escort to the tripoint. For many years the photos from this trip were the only pictures available on the internet of this site.

Participants were Peter Hering (President IBRG) (AT), Mike Kaufman (USA), Ann Kennard (UK), Doug Murray (CAN), Jesper Nielsen (DK), Hans Peter Nissen (DK), Rolf Palmberg (FI) and Harry ten Veen (NL). Thank you all for sharing your photos of the visit.

Photos of the visit

The Tripoint

Route to the Tripoint

Members of the IBRG were escorted to the tripoint from the Turkish side of the border. As in 2022 it was not possible to clearly identify where the island began. They however were successful in spotting one of the BM #230 markers.

The welcome

The group were welcomed by the local mayor and senior military officers. They were very well looked after and even had personal security throughout the trip. The IBRG formally thanks all those involved in making the visit so special and rememberable.