It is renowned for having the highest mountain peak in the Marmara Sea and is home to Turkey's richest flora for its land size.

Additionally, it is the birthplace of the enigmatic ancient poet Aristeas and is known for producing Turkey's most exquisitely flavored sage tea.

The island is the only one in Turkey to offer a combination of high mountains, lowlands suitable for agriculture, streams, waterfalls, olive cultivation, tourism, and mining.

[2] The modern name "Marmara" is derived from the Greek μάρμαρον (marmaron)[3] and that from μάρμαρος (mármaros), "crystalline rock", "shining stone",[4][5] perhaps from the verb μαρμαίρω (marmaírō), "to flash, sparkle, gleam",[6] because it was famous for the white marble quarried there.

Under the name Proconnesus it is a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church[2] (the see has been vacant since the death in 1963 of the most recent occupant),[7] and of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Proconnesian marble was used extensively in the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, satrapal palace of Halicarnassus, and exclusively in the Herculean Sarcophagus of Genzano now in the British Museum.

Stories and legends identify the island of Marmara (ancient Prokonnessos) as a visiting place of Jason and the Argonauts and with the expedition against Troy, the Trojan War, which Herodotus dates around 1250 BC.

From the fall of the Byzantine Empire through the beginning of the Ottoman period, the island was almost exclusively populated by Greek Orthodox Christians.

For example, in 1567, a group of runaways was protected and hidden by the locals of Marmara Island while the batches of children were being transported from the port of Dutlimanı in Bandırma.

[11] Beginning in the 17th century some Turks and a relatively large number of Jewish people lived on the island; most of these were Sephardi who had left Spain after the Inquisition.

Many of the former Jewish residents settled in the North American cities of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland (Oregon) and the Seattle/Tacoma area.

Since the Topağaç Plain, located in the eastern part of Marmara Island, was a malaria hotspot at that time, those who acquired land there were temporarily settled in Asmalı Village to the north.

The island, which roughly resembles an ellipse, has mountainous terrain in its central regions, while its north and south are generally hilly.

Additionally, during summer seasons, IDO operates a sea bus from Istanbul, and the trip takes 2.5 hours.