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Ayvalik is a popular North Aegean seaside
resort for local people, with ferries to
the Greek island of Lesvos (Mytileni).
Surrounded by groves of olive trees which
produce much of Turkey's best olive
oil, Ayvalik ("Quince Orchard",
pop. 30,000) has an interesting
history.
After the collapse of
the Ottoman
Empire, the Ottoman Greeks of
Ayvalik moved to Greece, and Turkish
citizens of Greece moved to Ayvalik.
Thus, even after the Greeks left, you
could still hear Greek spoken in the
streets of Ayvalik, although
the speakers were Turkish Muslims (who
had grown up in Greece).
Ayvalik has many old Ottoman Greek
houses, and orthodox churches
now converted to mosques. Turkish
tourists throng the many waterside
open-air restaurants in summer,
or take the ferry across the bay
to Alibey Island (Cunda) where
there are even more good waterside
restaurants and tavernas.
Dining,
relaxing, swimming and boating are
the things to do here in summer.
Ferries run
daily in summer between Ayvalik and
the Greek island of Lesvos (Mytileni),
less frequently at other times of year;
but the fare is extraordinarily
high that most people choose to
use other Greek-Turkish
ferries, such as from Çesme to
Chios, Kusadasi to
Samos, Bodrum to
Kos, or Marmaris to
Rhodes.
Distances & Travel Times
Assos
(Behramkale): 130 km (81
miles) NW, 2.25 hours
Balikesir: 104 km (65 miles)
E, 1.75 hours
Bandirma: 200
km (124 miles) NE, 3.5 hours
Bergama: 50
km (31 miles) SE, 50 minutes
Bursa: 300
km (186 miles) NE, 5 hours
Çanakkale: 200
km (124 miles) N, 3.5 hours
Dikili: 30 km (19 miles), 30
minutes
Istanbul (via Bandirma ferry): 200
km (124 miles) NE, 3.5 hours, plus
2-hour ferry voyage to Istanbul (Yenikapi)
Istanbul (via Yalova ferry): 355
km (221 miles) NE, 6 hours, plus 45-minute
ferry voyage to Istanbul (Yenikapi)
Izmir: 240
km (149 miles) S, 3.5 hours
Selçuk
(Ephesus): 320 km (200
miles), 5.5 hours
Aegean
Turkey
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