Ayvalik Holiday House
Old
stone Greek house
for holiday let in Ayvalik, on the Aegean coast in Turkey
A superior holiday experience that will linger in your memory
A superior holiday experience that will linger in your memory
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“Those who take pleasure in the accidental beauty of poverty and historical decay, those of
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Ayvalik derives its economy predominantly from the olive. There are
around 1,750,000, mainly green, olive groves throughout the area of
Ayvalik and Alibey that produce over 7,000 tons of the finest olive oil
in the Aegean region, if not the whole of Turkey. Throughout the winter
months, the tall brick chimneys of the olive factories release the
pungent aroma of olives from the presses below. In the town you will
find many shops selling products made from the humble olive. Jams,
purees, pickles, olives stuffed with almonds or peppers, black olives,
green olives, small olives, big olives and of course, the very best
virgin olive oil. You will also find hand made soaps and products
carved from the beautiful grained wood of the olive tree.
In the back streets, the clattering on cobbled streets of horse and
carts compete with mopeds, scooters and tractors. The picturesque
Ottoman architectural legacy was mostly crumbling and neglected until a
few years ago when renovations by mostly wealthy Turks from Istanbul,
Ankara and Izmir and increasingly Europeans, is beginning to transform
the town into it’s previous glorious heritage. Although there are
few sights of specific interest, a stroll around the maze of back
streets is a fascinating insight into some fine Greek and Ottoman
architecture, albeit coupled with the pervading atmosphere of
dereliction, with good examples of the pink Sarimsakli volcanic stone
and a myriad of fascinating wrought iron window railings, doors and
door knockers. From the overhanging windows, barely three feet apart in
some places, you will often see women hanging precariously while they
clean the windows and enjoy a raucous conversation and you will be
surprised by the bark of a dog from a roof terrace or the thwack of a
kilim being shaken from a window. Goats, sheep and chickens wander
freely along the top areas of the town and mill around the children
playing traditional games no longer seen in the west. Women sitting on
doorsteps, knitting while they rock the baby on a cushion between their crossed feet, or
preparing food and sharing the days gossip. Men whiling away the day
perched on small stools sipping strong black tea, enjoying a cigarette
or maybe the nargile pipe and indulging in endless games of backgammon
played at breakneck speed or simply twisting their worrybeads (Tespih)
and watching the world go by. But above all, the locals of Ayvalik are
an inquisitive, incredibly warm and hospitable people with a wry sense
of humour and relaxed attitude to life, which will certainly rub off on
you.
While the main thoroughfare leading from the town square provides
modern shops, the back streets hold a delight of traditional stores and
workshops – hot sparks shower the cobblestone streets from the
blacksmiths and ironmongers,the smell of hot bread straight from the
huge bread ovens on long wooden platters, the colourful displays of
fresh and abundant fruit and vegetables and much, much more.
Cunda Island is reached either by boat from Ayvalik
harbour or by car, dolmus or bus across the causeway. Despite some very
grand Greek houses and buildings, the centre retains a village
atmosphere and is easily navigated on foot. This is most enjoyable in
the evening when the village comes alive from the sleepy heat of the
day. Cunda is renown for the wealth of fresh fish restaurants along the
quayside, but make sure you establish the price before ordering! Inside
the village centre you will find many quaint eating houses serving a
meze of delicious dishes cooked in olive oil and bars open well into
the early hours, many with musicians playing both Greek and Turkish love songs. The atmosphere is enchanting.
Just back from the centre stands Taksiyarhis Greek Orthodox Church.
With it’s cracked columns and crumbled stucco it is now dangerously
close to collapse and home to some rather spooky large black birds who
fly around the faded frescoes in a dervish like frenzy. But still it
stands determinedly as testimony to its former glory and to the
previous Greek inhabitants of the island. There is a charming café
and pansiyon situated next to it, which also featured in a long running
and highly popular Turkish TV soap drama.
The Thursday open air bazaar in Ayvalik, which
spills out across the centre shopping area and maze of cobbled side
streets, is a particularly colourful Aegean affair with hill villagers
and Greeks from Lesvos descending on the area to both buy and sell and
add an additional frisson to the frenetic bartering. It is best visited
as early as you can unless you want to be literally carried along by
the crowds. 
You can find, at incredibly good prices, the usual
assortment of counterfeit designer named fashion clothes as well as the real thing, beautiful handmade cotton textiles with
intricate embroidery, leather, as well as standard
household necessities with all the market traders vying noisily for
your attention. But don’t forget to bargain! The real draw, however,
are the food sections. You will find an abundance of fresh organic
produce – vegetables and fruit, cheese, eggs, fresh produced butter,
divine local produced honey, hand made yufka (a kind of filo pasty used
in borek), nuts and spices and much, much more. Don’t miss the village market section where you will also find the most
extraordinary array of “green vegetables and salads”, most of which the
average European would think of as weeds but which are actually a
culinary delight served the Turkish way.There are also smaller markets,
predominantly food based, to be found on Saturday in Cunda Island, on
Sunday in Armutcuk and on Tuesday in Sarmisakli.
A good place to start your visit to
Ayvalik would be Seytan Sofrasi – literally “The Devils Table”. Set at
the highest point in the Ayvalik vicinity and formed by a volcanic
eruption, Seytan Sofrasi offers a magnificent unobstructed 360 degrees
panorama across the convoluted local coastline of bays, headlands and
islands, including the Greek island of Lesvos (Mytelini). The view is
particularly impressive at sunset with an ice cold Efes to hand! But
equally, is a good place to get your bearings at the beginning of your
holiday. The legend is the Devil liked the view so much, he ate his
dinner on the top and left his footprint upon leaving. The “footprint”
is now cordoned off and visitors throw coins onto it or tie pieces of
cotton to tree branches for good luck. Unfortunately, a lot of the pine
and wild shrubs tumbling down to the sea were lost in the devastating
forest fire of 2006. However, this does not detract from the incredible
views. There are restaurants and cafes at the top and also an authentic
Turkish teahouse under canvas where you can relax on low cushioned
seating, sipping tea and maybe eating gozleme (a kind of Turkish
pancake but far superior, filled with meat or cheese!), while taking in
the surrounding natural beauty.
Although essentially a harbour town, there are many fine
beaches and swimming areas around Ayvalik and Cunda Island. There are
swimming areas in the suburbs of the town at Camlik and Sirinkent and a
public beach facing the open sea just off the causeway to Cunda Island.
Slightly inland around Sarmisakli and Badavut the terrain is marshy and
you can find little bays of millpond like water with sand your feet
sink into. You may also be lucky to see pink flamingos and other native
birds.
Just before Sarmisakli and again, once past another ugly
apartment block development, the road to Badavut meanders through pine
forests to one of the area’s best kept secrets. A stretch of beautiful
sand and sea with the village and several rustic cafes at one end where
you can buy simple food at realistic prices, progresses westwards to a
hilltop military base surrounded by magnificent rock formations, while
in 
the middle the beach is backed by an area of scrubland and dunes,
which in the Spring are covered in a blanket of wild flowers, grasses and
heathers. During the summer months, a local fisherman brings his catch
of the day by boat to sell surrounded by flocks of seagulls. Without
rousing from your deckchair, you can be served with fresh corn on the
cob or mussels filled with spiced rice by hawkers who must walk
literally miles each day to delight the culinary senses of the
sunbathers. And of course, the proverbial melon and ice cream boat
arrives several times a day.
The top road out of the town offers stunning views of the Ayvalik
bays and meanders up and down in spirals surrounded on both sides by
forests of pine and olives, the red rock formations coloured neon green
by lichen. Dropping down from the road there are a couple of beach
clubs set into the forests and rocks and both offering exceptionally
peaceful and relaxing facilities along with delicious freshly cooked
traditional Turkish cuisine.
The highlight of any visit to Ayvalik is to take a boat trip
around the many little bays and islands. There are half a dozen boats,
all cheerfully competing for your business, from the larger “pirate
boats” down to the smaller family owned ones. The boats stop off at
islands for those who like to explore and moor up in pretty bays for
swimming. A delicious lunch of fresh, fried sardines, bread and salad
is included in the price and the servings are as plentiful as your
stomach can take. These trips are extremely popular so during the
summer months, you will need to pre book.
A few miles offshore, the depths of the Aegean Sea around
Ayvalik reveal a hidden paradise of colourful marine creatures, corals,
plants and sponges as well as many species of fish. The local diving
centre provides various courses for different levels of experience with
certification.Hosted
by www.icdsoft.com USA / Tax Reg No: 4190367768 Ayvalik/Turkey
Tax Reg No: 4190367768 Ayvalik/Turkey
Tax Reg No: 4190367768 Ayvalik/Turkey