travel to turkey

AYVALIK IN TURKEY

The town of Ayvalik has a population of 25,000. It is located on the tip of the Turkish coast only 1.5 hours by sea from the port of Mytilini at the island of Lesvos, about 120 km north of Izmir and just 6 hours away by air-conditioned coach from Istanbul.

Foreign visitors to the hot spots of Marmaris, Kusadaci and Bodrum with their discos and bars do not know Ayvalik as well, since it’s a much calmer place. What Ayvalik does offer is a unique combination of natural beauty and history. It preserves its unspoiled Aegean beauty with the characteristic architecture and cobblestone streets and has remained mostly unspoiled. Its narrow streets have changed little since they were first set. Thankfully it has been spared the over-development that has been visited upon other areas in Turkey.

However the most reliable visitors to Ayvalik is the people of Lesvos, who visit regularly for shopping, in the same fashion as the British go over to France. The area also tends to attract visitors interested in a relaxing holiday with beautiful scenery and a wealth of historical / archaeological sites. Ayvalik also conjures images of olive oil and fresh fish. As is the case all along the Aegean coast, all of the region’s mouth-watering delicacies are prepared with olive oil. The seafood restaurants along its shores are visited almost every month of the year by those seeking seafood delights, coming from Izmir and even Istanbul to escape busy city life for a weekend.

The area of Ayvalik, from the beach area of Sarmisak and up to          the northern point of Cunda Island, or Alibey as it is now known has some beautiful sandy beaches encircled by the silvery green mass of the olive groves. The hills surrounding the city, known as Şeytan Sofrası, overlook both Ayvalik and Alibey island offering striking sunsets and panoramic views of the Aegean. Dining, relaxing, swimming and boating are the things to do in Ayvalik in the summer.

Alibey island is one of 22 islands around Ayvalik and easily the most well known. It is connected to the mainland by a long causeway road built across the bay and is visible from the sea to the left as you enter the island inlets towards the port of Ayvalik. It is famous, amongst other things, for its ground coffee house, and the old Greek  Orhodox Taxhiarhis Church.

The church has long been abandoned but is still one of the 'must see' sites on Alibey  island. There is a groundskeeper who will let you see inside if you wish. Although the church has survived many years without a congregation and the building is now in a state of decay it’s a testament to the Greek presence of the past. The building is not in good condition, the columns are cracked with faded, scratched frescoes but it still stands with a dignity as a monument to the passing years of change in this land.

Historical Prespective

The area of Ayvalik has been populated at least since 330 BC. Ayvalik's original name was Hekatonnesoi, which came from the God Hekatos of Cunda Island.

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the town was almost completely destroyed during the Greek Independance War. In 1923 under the directives of the Treaty of Lausanne an estimated half a million Greeks were to leave Asia Minor (amongst them the Greeks of Ayvalik). They were moved to Greece (many of them settled at Lesvos) and the Turks living in Greece (mainly from Lesvos, Macedonia and Crete) were moved to Ayvalik and other places in Turkey. Thus, even after the Greeks left, you could still hear Greek spoken in the streets of Ayvalik, although the speakers were Turkish Muslims (who were born and had grown up in Greece). Those Turks who arrived in Ayvalık from Greece brought with them a different culture evident in the town today. There is not a Turk born in the area now  who has not heard stories about former Greek neighbours who the older generation remembers fondly as they look across the Aegean waters to the Greek island of Mytilini.  However the Greek Ordodox churches became mosques as Greeks moved out of and Turks moved into Ayvalik.

Today at Ayvalik they are many surviving old Greek stone houses, and orthodox churches converted to mosques, standing witnesses to a painful past for the Greeks.

GETTING TO AYVALIK FROM MYTILINI

The Trip

You need to get to the port of Mytilini, and the passport office located just in front of the harbour entrance pretty early in the morning (07.00 hrs is a good time) Entrance to the passport control is on the West side of the building. Be prepared to find, any time of the year, especially on Thursdays (market day) lots of Greek travellers, carrying empty suitcases and bags waiting to get in.

The Passport hall leading to control opens at 08.00 hrs. Greeks are not very good at queuing in an orderly fashion and they are very likely to barge in, so remember,  “ in Rome you do as the Romans”. You must have your passports at the ready for the officers to check them and make sure that you are registered on the ships manifest. You will ONLY be on the ships manifest if you have booked in advance, so make sure you have done this. 

Once you are through passport control you can visit the duty free shop at Mytilini harbour. As you are entering there are notices to tell you what you can legally carry. There is NO duty free from Ayvalik to Mytilini (although any cigarettes and alcohol you buy from shops in Ayvalik, has already  duty paid so you are allowed to carry them back to Mytilini).

Even though you may be taking only a day trip across to Ayvalik you could buy from the duty free shop at Mytilini harbour AND bring it back with you into Greece the same day. In general shopping in Turkey is cheap but it is worth buying  Alcohol, Top Brand Cigarettes and Tobacco at the Mytilini harbour Duty Free Shop.

At high season you are likely to be travelling by the “Cunda Express” which is a beautiful modern passenger ferry but in the low season you will be travelling by the older “Jalehad”, which nevertheless has a top deck, an inside saloon with soft refreshments available as well as two toilets on board. Since July 2004 a new boat of Greek ownership, but sailing under a Turkish flag and the name of Midili I (Mytilini in Turkish) has frequent schedules to Aivalik (on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday) and Dikeli (on Tuesday ).

The ferries are meant to depart at 8.a.m but it is not unusual to be delays in departure up to 9 a.m. Once the ferry departs you can enjoy the wonderful views of Lesvos and Mytilini Castle as they get smaller and of Turkey as it comes closer.

The trip to Ayvalik takes only one and a half hours. Due to the location of Ayvalik, you are approaching Turkey through a sheltered bay with a series of small islands about half an hour before actually docking. At a distance the coastline may appear barren, but once you are closer the landscape is very lush and green with thousands of olive and pine trees.

Arrival in Ayvalik

At least ten minutes before arrival at Ayvalik, you should head towards the disembarkation point of the ship. When the ferry finally arrives at Ayvalik, you need to go through the Turkish passport control (white building). There are no notices telling you what to do, but don’t leave the terminal building before collecting a “pass” from the passport office. If you try to you will only be stopped by the Turkish official.

You need to hand over your passport at a very small window to a Turkish customs officer who will give you a numbered receipt and keep the passport for your return journey. At any time of the year you are likely to be travelling with 100 or 300 other travellers. The experience isn't a bad one (apart from the jostling) and really it doesn’t take too long but be prepared for this.

If you are travelling with friends or family, it is a good idea for one of you to collect all your passports and stand inside, while the rest of you wait outside. Once you have your receipt you can move freely from the confines of the arrival terminal into the town and enjoy yourselves.

After this you are likely to be in need of some fortification before heading for the market but getting a coffee and something to eat is not difficult or expensive.

The Ayvalik Bazaar

The main bazaar (market), mainly a clothes bazaar, is held on a Thursday, although there are smaller versions on Saturdays. The central streets of Ayvalik are closed to traffic during the bazaar day and are literally full of stalls.

Clothes, Shoes & Carpets: If you are looking for cotton products or clothing in general, you can't go far wrong here and you will find stall upon stall stocked up with all manner of attire. The market separates into sections, one of which appears to be for clothes and the other for shoes. You will find that cotton items are especially cheap and mostly of good quality. The shoe section can also be a bonus for various leather shoes and boots (prices and quality). There are about six large show stalls, but one in particular seems to have footwear of better quality available. 

If you are interested in buying a Turkish carpet, it seems that the bazaar is not the place to get the best choice or value as only two stalls are selling them... one tends to be very overpriced with small rugs starting at 120 Euro, the other is a stall selling cheaper knotted carpets rather than colourful traditional types. The best place to buy carpets in Turkey, is in Pergamon where apart from visiting the ruins you can visit a carpet weaving factory. 

The Food Market:

The central food market is a large square in the middle of the bazaar area stocking products of good quality. The food market is extremely well organised and has areas of fresh fruit stalls, vegetables, spices, nuts and pulses, fresh cheese and eggs. The spice stalls stock different kinds of chili, oregano, sage, basil, cumin, safron and countless others. The owners of the stalls will often dip ladles into the spices and offer you them to try... Quite an experience, but if you are going to engage in this activity keep a small bottle of water handy, you will need it!

If you are self-catering in Ayvalik or travelling through the country, you should definitely stop here to stock up on fresh supplies. Unfortunately is not allowed to bring back fresh produce ( fruit & vegetables) back to Lesvos with you. You will be approached by stall owners but do look closely before you buy. In general, you are less likely to be ‘hassled’, but a certain amount of barter does take place to achieve good prices. Most stall owners are friendly and  you are not likely to be short changed.

Return to Mytilini

At 17.00 hrs you will need to make your way back to the ferry for the return journey to Lesvos. Passing through customs you must hand in your receipt to the Turkish official in order to collect your passport. The ferry is likely to be full of heavy luggage on the way back. The empty suitcases carried by the Greeks from Lesvos get filled with their shopping from the market, to bring back! 

All things being equal you will be docking at the port of Mytilini at 19.30 and the start of your drive back to where you started from. Having to drive back even at the furthest locations of Lesvos you are likely to have reached base by 21.30 at the earliest.

The day trip to Ayvalik from start to finish is certainly a full 15 hours day. You will have started from one continent and visited another, having a comfortable and short ferry journey. You will have experienced the other side of the Aegean, some wonderful colourful surroundings and a different culture.

On average on a day trip to Ayvalik you are likely to have a total of just over seven hours in dry land and it is enough to see some of the town and shop.  If you want to prolong the experience you must consider the three-day excursions to see Alibey Island, Pergamon, Ephesus, Bursa or on longer stays Istanbul...

PRICE PER PERSON: 28 Euro

Press HERE to see information about Lesvos Island in Greece