Ayvalık, Turkey walking tour - (Ayvalık turu)

Описание: Ayvalık is a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkey. It is a district of Balıkesir Province. The town center of Ayvalık is surrounded by the archipelago of Ayvalık Islands, which face the nearby Greek island of Lesbos.

Ayvalık was located in the ancient region named Aeolis in antiquity. The ruins of three important ancient cities are within a short driving distance away from Ayvalık: Assos and Troy are to the north, while Pergamon is to the east. Various archeological studies in the region prove that Ayvalık and its environs were inhabited as early as the prehistoric ages.

Today, the population of Ayvalık is close to 30,000, which significantly increases during the summer due to tourism. Ayvalık and its environs are famous for the highly appreciated quality of olive oil production, which provides an important source of income for the local population. Ayvalık and the numerous islets encircling the bay area are popular holiday resorts. The largest and most important of these islets is Cunda Island (Alibey Island) which is connected to Lale Island, and thence to the mainland, by a bridge and causeway built in the late 1960s. This is the oldest bridge in Turkey that connects lands separated by a strait. Both Ayvalık and Cunda Island are famous for their seafood restaurants which are located immediately at the seashore.
Ayvalık also has two of the longest sandy beaches of Turkey which extend as far as the Dikili district of İzmir nearly 30 km (19 mi) to the south. These are the Sarımsaklı and Altınova beaches. In recent years, Ayvalık has also become an important point of attraction for scuba divers with its underwater fauna.
Ayvalık is in close proximity to Bergama (ancient Pergamon), which is another important attraction for tourists, with its ruins dating back to antiquity. The Gulf of Edremit, Mount Ida and the ancient cities of Assos and Troy to the north; and the coastal resort towns of Dikili (near ancient Atarneus) and Foça (ancient Phocaea) to the south; are also within driving distance for daily excursions. Ferries operate daily between Ayvalık and Mytilene in nearby Lesbos Island, Greece.

Ayvalık has a reported millenia[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.
Ayvalık (24% and good pollinator) is among the ten main cultivars in Turkey. 80% of the fruit is processed for oil, 20% for table olives, the area is the second largest producer in Turkey.

Source: Wikipedia


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