Ayvalik
50km southwest of Edremit Bay, near the port of Ayvalik, the coastline curves around a number of bays with pine woods and olive fields, an area of much-frequented beaches and beautiful holiday accommodation. There are also more than 20 islands around Ayvalik, the largest of which, Cunda Island (named after a Turkish general after the War of Liberation) was already settled in antiquity and has experienced a golden age under the Romans.
Until 1923, Ayvalik was a purely Christian community. Even today the neo-classical facades of Ayvalik's old houses and the alleys of the Old Town give Ayvalik a distinguished atmosphere. Ayvalik grew up between the 16th and 17th centuries, becoming a kind of sanctuary for its Christian population. In 1773 Ottoman Muslims were actually restricted from living in Ayvalik. Starting of the 19th century the town had achieved a peak of prosperity. However in 1821, the Kydonians captured two Turkish ships, as a result of which they found themselves expelled. Unfortunately they set the town into fire as they went. Sultan Mahmut II, in 1827, allowed some 19,000 Greeks to return back without restoring their earlier privileges. Ayvalik quickly resumed its role as an important port again. At the time it had 5 consulates. Its citizens are said to have been accomplished smugglers.
About a hundred years later the inhabitants found themselves forced to leave again, this time as a part of the population exchange following the Greek occupation (1919-23). The Greeks left behind a many churches which the Muslims put to use some of them as mosques. The Taksiyarhis Church, a 19th century building with a lovely interior, to the north of Ayvalik, is well worth visiting.
The Sarimsakli and Altinova beaches of Ayvalik constitues the longest sandy beaches of Turkey which extends to Dikili town (Izmir) towards the south of Ayvalik. Ayvalik, with a population of 30,000 villagers, is famous for its high quality olive and olive oil production.