Ayvalık

Ayvalık is a city in the Northern Aegean region of Turkey, with a population of 71,063 in 2018. It's on the south coast of the Gulf of Edremit, an inlet of the Aegean Sea, and connected by bridges to the resort of Cunda island, also described on this page. It was Greek for much of its history, and is within view (and a short ferry ride) of Mytilini on the Greek island of Lesvos.

Understand
Ayvalık’s ancient name was Kydonia (Κυδωνίες) - both names refer to quince but the city has long been surrounded by olive trees. Olives are a staple product that you can consume or trade, and Kydonia was also the port for other Hellenistic cities such as Pergamon, now Bergama. The sea was a mixed blessing, bringing trade but also seaborne attack. The city came under Ottoman control from the 14th century but with a high degree of autonomy. Its population remained overwhelmingly Greek until the First World War, in spite of inter-ethnic massacres in the 19th century as Greece broke away from the Ottoman Empire. There were further massacres in the follow-on war of 1919-1922, when Greece sought to wrest more territory from defeated Turkey, but was thrown back by a resurgent nation under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne brought a peace that has lasted, albeit often frosty. The borders were redrawn and almost all the Aegean islands (such as nearby Lesvos) were assigned to Greece. Greeks were deported from mainland Turkey while Turks were deported from Greek territory, and the Turks from Crete were resettled in the town renamed Ayvalık. This was one of the better-matched population exchanges, as Cretan architecture, street life and cuisine had a lot in common with those of the former Kydonia.

This heritage is nowadays the distinctive feature of Ayvalık. Sure enough in both city and outlying areas there are many sad ruins and tumbledown old buildings. But to a greater extent than elsewhere, you'll find elegant mansions, traditional East Mediterranean houses, and cobbled alleys suffused with the perfume of frying fish.

The Government Tourist Office (Turizm Danışma) remains closed in 2022. Lots of commercial agencies with sell you tours or tout accommodation.

By plane
The nearest airport is Edremit Korfez Airport 40 km northeast, with flights from Istanbul (both IST and SAW) and occasionally Ankara. It's been grandly renamed Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport but remains as far from Balıkesir as before.

Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport is 175 km south but has a much better range of international and domestic flights.

By train
The nearest station is Balıkesir 130 km east. This has a daytime and an overnight train from Ankara via Eskişehir heading for Izmir, plus a daily train from Bandırma on the Marmara coast (with fast ferries from Istanbul) also heading for Izmir. The bus between Balıkesir and Ayvalık takes just under 2 hours.

By car
By road from Istanbul take O-7 east, sweeping over Osmangazi Bridge onto O-5 southwest past Bursa - the tolls are pricey but worth it for the time-saving. Beyond Balıkesir turn off onto D230 west, to join D550 on the Aegean coast near Edremit, and reckon 8 hours altogether.

From Izmir follow E87 / O-33 north (you really don't want to be stop-starting on the old highway D550) until the town off-ramp by the bus station.

By bus
Buses from Istanbul to Izmir call at Ayvalık so this is a frequent service round the clock. The trip takes just under 8 hours and in 2022 you might pay 500 TL single. Buses from Çanakkale also call here. Operators on the route include Pamukkale, Metro Turizm and Flixbus.

From Izmir the bus takes 2 hours and might cost 100 TL. Look for a local bus rather than an inter-city.

The is 3 km east of town centre at the bypass junction, so you need a local bus or dolmuș to get downtown.

Otogar the old bus station is town centre near the waterfront. This is where a dolmuș or local bus will bring you.

By boat
Car ferries from Mytilini on the Greek island of Lesvos take 90 min. Turyol is the ferry line: in 2022 a one way adult ticket was €20, return €30.

The is 1 km north of town centre.

Get around
Local buses and dolmuşes run frequently from town centre to Cunda island and to Çamlık.

The summer ferryboat between town and Cunda island no longer sails.

See

 * Saatli Camii or "Clock Mosque" for its clocktower was a Greek Orthodox church of 1850. It was converted into a mosque in 1928 and the minaret added but the interior was little changed. It's on Çarşı Sk 100 m southwest of Taksiyarhis Church.
 * Çınarlı Mosque 100 m southeast of Clock Mosque is another neo-classical Greek church turned into a mosque.
 * The castle on the hill overlooking the ferry port is just an old windmill tower. Nice sunset views towards Cunda island, but layabouts trash the area faster than the Council can clean it up.
 * Elias Venezis (Elias Mellos / Ηλίας Μέλλος 1904-1973) the novelist was born in the house on 13 Nisan Cd, No 112 - it's neglected and you can't go in. When Turkey re-captured the area from the Greeks in 1922, Venezis was among those put into a 3000-man "labour battalion" and sent on a death march - only a couple of dozen survived, and Number 31328 is his literary account. Many old houses in this district might tell similar stories but are rapidly succumbing to time and the developers.
 * is a holy spring - washing your face in it may or may not erase your sins, ailments and losing streak with lottery tickets. The tradition is 800 years old but by the early 20th century the springhead was disused and the building became an olive factory. That too closed in the 1970s and became tumbledown, but it was restored from 2015 in neo-Classical style. The other old houses in this neighbourhood are in somewhat better shape than elsewhere in Ayvalık.
 * means "pine woods" and it's a bosky southern suburb with upmarket neo-classical mansions.
 * means "Satan's Table". It's a breezy hilltop (bring your jacket) with a restaurant where you come to watch the sunset. A mark in the rock is said to be Satan's footprint: there are several versions of what he was doing here, but some visitors believe he's still around as the car park attendant, who charges 15 TL then tries to gouge more.
 * means "Satan's Table". It's a breezy hilltop (bring your jacket) with a restaurant where you come to watch the sunset. A mark in the rock is said to be Satan's footprint: there are several versions of what he was doing here, but some visitors believe he's still around as the car park attendant, who charges 15 TL then tries to gouge more.
 * means "Satan's Table". It's a breezy hilltop (bring your jacket) with a restaurant where you come to watch the sunset. A mark in the rock is said to be Satan's footprint: there are several versions of what he was doing here, but some visitors believe he's still around as the car park attendant, who charges 15 TL then tries to gouge more.
 * Cunda Island is the popular name for those islands linked to town by 15 Eylül ("September") Cd. The first one you reach is Lale or Tulip Island, also called Dolap Adası, Cabinet Island. The original causeway made the port lagoon stagnant so in 2017 it was replaced by Gönül Bridge, toll-free.
 * Alibey Island is the main "Cunda" island, reached from Lale by Ayvalık Strait (or 15 Eylül) Bridge, completed in 1964 and likewise toll-free.
 * Ay Dimitri (St Demetrius) is on the hill behind the first junction as you come off the bridge, but don't bother. It was the chapel of an 18th century monastery, dilapidated but roughly in one piece until 2020. Then treasure hunters excavated around it, undercutting the foundations, so the next rainfall reduced it to rubble.
 * Hamidiye Mosque is on the seafront at the corner of Mevlana Cd. It was completed in 1897 / 98.
 * Panaya Church is just a sorry shell 200 m north of Taksiyarhis church. It was built in the 18th century, abandoned in 1923, damaged by an earthquake in 1944 and part-demolished later. It's a brave motorist who leaves a car parked next to it.
 * Sevim And Necdet Kent Library just north of Panaya Church has icons and frescoes rescued from Orthodox churches.
 * Old houses line the alleys around the church and library.
 * Leka Monastery one km west of the main village on Alibey Island is now a private residence.
 * is a scrappy ruin in the hills, you only come for the forest hike.
 * is a scrappy ruin in the hills, you only come for the forest hike.
 * or Pigeon Island could barely accommodate a flock of pigeons but has, guess what, another ruined monastery.
 * is the other monastery dedicated to St Demetrius - again, don't bother. Also known as the Moonlight Monastery (Ayışığı Manastırı), from 2012 it was re-developed with the monastery incorporated into a modern resort building. The project appears to have stalled and in 2022 the area remains fenced off. It's on Patriçya peninsula at the north end of the island along a bad road.
 * west of Cunda must have been irresistible to hermits, but the Portoselene Tower was a lookout and not religious.
 * Ayvalık Islands Nature Park is the designation of the whole archipelago of some three dozen islands. Only Lale and Alibey are nowadays inhabited (and heavily developed as resorts) while the others have become depopulated. Boat trips sometimes visit their quiet coves.
 * 8 km south of the town is a broad sandy beach 7 km long, with lots of restaurants and hotels.
 * is 13 km south of town. Public transport might be taking you instead to Altinova village, 4 km inland along the main highway.
 * See Dikili for points further south towards Izmir.

Do

 * Scuba diving: the islands have several sites. Ayvalık 3 Sea Diving Center runs boat trips.
 * Watch the sunset at Devil’s Table (Şeytan Sofrası) south of town.
 * Football: Ayvalıkgücü were promoted in 2022 and now play soccer in TFF 3. Lig, the country's fourth tier. Their home ground Hüsnü Uğural Stadyumu (capacity 5000) is south of town centre near the marina.

Buy

 * Everything related to olives: olive oil, brined olives, castile soap . . . you can probably buy olive-based small automobile parts here.
 * "Persembe Pazari" means Thursday market and it's in the town back streets.

Eat

 * Seafood is the thing here — a local saying invokes the unholy trinity of Rakı, Balık, Ayvalık ("rakı, fish, Ayvalık"). Eating places are clustered downtown and in the village on Cunda island. "Meyhane" indicates tables lined along an alley.


 * Ayvalık Tostu is a local toasted sandwich, with cheese, sausage, pickles, and condiments. Perhaps you wouldn't write home about it, but when in Rome...


 * Other local delicacies include stuffed squash blossom (kabak çiçeği dolması), which replaces the grapevine leaves of the typical Turkish dolma with squash flowers.


 * In town are Papa John's pizza chain, Acelya Cafe, Köfteci Yusuf, İyimiş Meyhane, Tamam Meyhane, Tostçular çarşısı chain, Olay Tost, Hacıoğlu Aşkın Tost Evi, Ayvalık Müptela Köftecisi, Urfa Balıklıgöl sofrası, Ayvalik City Club Yoruk Mehmet's, İki Tek Meyhane, Çiçek Meyhane, Bi Meyhane Ayvalık Et&Kebap-Meze, Ayvalık Deniz Yıldızı Restoran and many more.
 * Cunda island eating strip is along Mevlana Cd. They include Lokma İmparatoru, Cunda Sahil, Lal Girit Mutfağı, Cundalinin Balık Evi, Zayka, Cunda Yakamoz, Cundeli, Cunda Deniz, Sardunya and L’arancia Cunda.

Drink

 * Downtown pubs include The Shelby, White Knight, Batı Roof, Vatos, Statik Heraklitos, By Deniz, Pena Wine House and Kraft Ayvalik.
 * Cunda island pubs are a block back from the waterfront, such as Kara Kedi, Orman, Laterna, Cielo Bistro, La Fuga and Cunda Se7en.

Sleep

 * Lots and lots of accommodation, in three main areas: the town, Cunda island, and Sarımsaklı Beach south of town.



Connect
Ayvalık town, its approach highways and the islands linked by road have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of July 2022, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

Go next

 * Edremit northeast is itself inland, but is the main town of a string of little beach resorts around the gulf.
 * Bergama southeast has the substantial Graeco-Roman ruins of Pergamon. An alternative route follows the scenic country lane across the old growth stone pine forests of the Kozak plateau.
 * Foça on the north fringes of Izmir is another small port that has preserved its Greek architecture.
 * Izmir south is a busy modern city with much to explore.
 * Istanbul to Izmir is a long-distance itinerary with one branch running through Ayvalık.