The first time I came across the idea of visiting Ayvalik was while I was on a Turkish Airlines domestic flight from Istanbul to Ankara. In THY's inflight magazine was an article about the life of 20th century Turkish Fauvist painter Fikret Muallâ Saygi (1903-1967), and I was immediately attracted to the bright, bold colours and expressive emotions of his works. In one of the photographs published in the article, the painter was shown to stand near the harbour of a small village with some pretty Greek houses in the background. The photo was taken while Saygi was teaching at a school in Ayvalik soon after his return from Europe. The little village in the photo seems so peaceful and picturesque, it aroused my interest immediately.
However, it would take me another 2 years or so before I could finally accomplish my intention of visiting Ayvalik and the nearby archipelagos.

The area near Ayvalik is known for excellent olives, great seafood and pretty Greek houses. The Bay of Ayvalik is actually an archipelago with more than 40 islands of various sizes. The most scenic and pretty of them is Cunda (Alibey Adasi), connected to the mainland by a causeway. I was told that during high tide, the coastway would be closed to traffic and inhabitants on Cunda will have to travel by small boats to Ayvalik.

I was still asleep when the Truva Turizm dropped me off at the petrol station on the main road, off the junction to Ayvalik. Most buses from Izmir to Canakkale and Istanbul will pass by Ayvalik, and they choose to drop off their passengers on the main road instead of making a detour and go into the town centre itself. Passengers heading to Ayvalik were told to wait at the service station for the free mini-bus transfer service that will take us direct to the city centre.
It was late September and at 8am in the morning, it was very windy and cold. I did not have the appropriate footwear for this kind of windy climate - instead of proper shoes, I had had my flip-flops on. And they were the only footwear I had with me on that particular day. Fortunately it did not rain and I had my Max Mara cashmere pullover with me, which went a long way in keeping me warm.
One friendly fellow passengers, who spoke a little English, told me the transfer bus would arrive in 10 minutes' time and I could take the shared taxi (1YTL per person per ride) from Ayvalik centre to Cunda-Alibey Adasi, where the pretty Greek houses are.
Share-taxis to Cunda are easy to find. They come by every 5 minutes and you can board and alight anywhere you want along the pre-destined route.
Once we arrived at the centre of Ayvalik, the view opens up - the sea was very windy and rough on that day, with waves constantly beating the shore. First I walked around the centre but soon decided to head to Cunda and look for a place to stay overnight. I did not really sleep well on the bus and I desperately needed some sleep.
As the taxi drove onto the causeway, the view of the archipelago and the Aegean took my breath away. It was so ruggedly beautiful, not the refined gentle beauty of southern Aegean, but a beauty that is wild, sensual, almost rugged - and I am enchanted. You can smell the fresh sea breeze and beautiful sea all over the place.
All shared-taxis stop at the little square right on the seafront of Cunda, just 5 minutes' walk to the historic centre of the island famous for rows of dilapidated but fine Greek houses. I quickly found a little family-run pension with en-suite rooms and a huge kitchen on the ground floor. It costs 40YTL for the room.

Once I got myself some sleep, it was time to venture outdoor and explore this place. It was during the week and tourist season was almost over, the streets were quiet and I enjoyed that feeling of sereneity. Only a few pensions were open for business but most cafes and restaurants were still open. The seafront of Cunda is lined with good seafood restaurants serving fresh catch right from the sea. You can buy your own fish fresh from the stalls, then ask any restaurant chefs to prepare them for you.

As I am not fond of seafood, I decided to have some home-made Gozleme at a family-run eatery instead. It was good - fresh, full of tasty cheese and tomatoes. Given the variety of fillings available, I did not know which one to choose, fortunately some friendly locals came to my rescue - they offered me several diffferent types of Gozleme they had ordered themselves and help me arrive at a decision.

The centre of Cunda has several good local restaurants serving local specialities, wines and pastries. The unique blend of Greek heritage and Turkish flaire made it an interesting place to visit.

Nice cafes in pretty Greek stone houses can be found at almost every corner of Cunda island.


A 'Lokanta' is a kind of family-run restaurant that serves freshly prepared hot food and is almost always good value for money.

There are many nice bakery shops serving freshly made bread, sweet baklava and pastries filled with almond, pistachio and nuts. Since I have neither the appetite for seafood, nor tooth sweet enough for breads filled with almond paste, I opted for some normal break and a cup of good coffee instead.
After my lunch and coffee break, l walked around the little cobblestone streets and admire the Greek styled houses found all over Cunda. Some are very well preserved or properly restored, while some others are not so fortunate...

This is probably one of the funniest and most 'calssic' signposts I have ever seen on my travel all over the world, I would say: it is erected right next to an old Greek Orthodox Church that had been left to rot on its own, probably since the population exchange in the early 1920s. The fact that the sign is written in English goes some way to tell us that nowadays, probably only foreign visitors care to take a look at these crumbling ruins...


Copyrights 2008. All texts and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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