AYVALIK Travel Guide in Turkey

Ayvalik is a small quiet seaside resort, fishing town and place where olive oil and soap are made. Ayvalik has thankfully been spared the over-development that has been visited upon other areas in Turkey.

The small town still has close links to their Greek neighbors as it was still inhabited by Greeks until after WWI. There are still churches here, like the Taksiyarhis Church and it is a pleasure to walk the narrow cobblestone streets and the old stone houses.


Ayvalik is located north of Izmir on the Aegean Coast of Turkey, and it is from here that a ferry is available to the Island of Lesvos in Greece. Nearby is Alibey Adasi (Cunda Island), which boasts abandoned Greek churches, and small seaside restaurants on old stone houses.



Ayvalik and its stone houses are the living remnants of inhabitants who have been in the area since 330 B.C. There are 22 islands around Ayvalik. This island and its smaller islets were known to the Greeks as Hecatonnesi and were sacred to Apollo.

AYVALIK - CUNDA

The island was given the name Alibey in recognition of Gen.


Alibey, who was instrumental in liberating Ayvalik in 1922. The northern part of the island forms a nature reserve with the ruins of an ancient Greek temple and a Genoese watchtower and another nearby attraction is the view of Seytan Sofrasi (Devil's Table).