We love Ayvalik!
Read here why we felt home in only three days we spent in Ayvalik!
It feels different than any other resort town thanks to its low buildings. As a traditional town, nobody can build a third floor in Ayvalik.
The seafront is always busy but pleasant to walk. From the main dock you can take one of the small pedestrian streets and stroll for 2-3 hours around the central market. It’s cosy.
Sea should be usually calm thanks to the Ayvalik islands, which create a secluded gulf, ideal for fishing. Lesbos island can be seen at the background.
Ayvalik was a Greek town till 1922. In 1923, following the population exchange between Turkey and Greece, it’s inhabitants moved to the mainland of Greece and Turks from Crete and Lesbos migrated to Ayvalik. Those people were Muslims but spoke Greek for the following years and still today their grandchildren are proud of their origins.
According to Wikipedia, “Ayvalık has a reported millennia[12] of olive cultivation with over 2.5 million trees covering 13,200 hectares (33,000 acres) or 41.3% of the region. Hundreds of trees are over 500 years old. Commercial production began in the 1950s and became prominent in the 1960s”.