Ayvalık: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 38 - 90 Kalif Hotel
 Located in the popular North Agean seaside resort of Ayvalik, the Kalif Hotel is a 3-star hotel offering comfortable accommodation and a range of faci… MoreEUR 35 - 100 Hotel Prens Yildiz
 Prens Yildiz is located in Ayvalik Sarimsakli, 200 meters from Sarimsakli Beach. The hotel features an outdoor pool and a private beach with shower fa… MoreEUR 60 - 105 Hotel Palmera Resort
 Hotel Palmera Resort boasts a privileged location on Sarimsakli Beach, just 50 metres from the Aegean Sea. It offers and outdoor swimming pool and a r… MoreEUR 20 - 120 Mavi Pension
 Mavi Pension is set in a building dating back from the 1950s surrounded by an evergreen garden, 50 meters from the sea. It features free Wi-Fi connect… MoreEUR 75 - 210 Ortunc Club
 Ortunc Club is situated in a secluded bay at the tip of the Lesbos Cunda Peninsula. It features diving and water sports facilities and provides free W… MoreEUR 25 - 119 Sevo Hotel
 Sevo Hotel is situated less than 5 minutes’ walk from Sarimsakli Beach. It offers free onsite parking and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. Its simpl… MoreEUR 35 - 80 Sato Pension
 A 4-minute walk from Ayvalik waterfront, Sato offers homely accommodation housed in a renovated typical house of the Balıkesir Province. It features … MoreEUR 35 - 155 Hotel Billurcu
 Situated on the Aegean coast on the beautiful Sarimsakli beach, this 3-star hotel also offers its own private beach and family accommodation.
With a … MoreEUR 29 - 85 Hotel Antikhan
 Hotel Antikhan is a small, family-run pension set within one of the oldest buildings in Ayvalik. Antikhan is located just 200 metres from the seafront… MoreEUR 35 - 135 Chez Beliz Boutique
 Situated in Ayvalık’s city centre, this charming hostel offers comfortable rooms with free Wi-Fi and a private bathroom. It is just a 5-minute walk… MoreEUR 50 - 150 Butik Sizmahan
 Located in a former olive oil factory in Ayvalik, this beachfront hotel offers rooms with free Wi-Fi and air conditioning. Ayvalik’s city centre is … MoreEUR 49 - 130 Cundavilla Hotel
 Cundavilla Hotel offers apartment-style accommodation on the Edremit Bay side of the Cunda Island. All of its rooms have balconies with views of the s… MoreEUR 86 - 115 Grand Hotel Temizel
 Grand Hotel Temizel is a 5-star hotel located in Ayvalik´s Sarimsakli Beach, just 8 km from Ayvalik´s city centre. It features free Wi-Fi … MoreEUR 60 - 90 Gunebakan Taliani Hotel
 Gunebakan Taliani is set in a verdant pine tree forest at the edge of Ayvalık and 500 meters from the beach. It features free Wi-Fi in communal areas… MoreEUR 50 - 140 Grand Milano Hotel
 Grand Milano is a recently renovated hotel located in Sarimsakli Ayvalik, 50 meters from its own private beach. It also features an outdoor swimming p… MoreEUR 30 - 60 Aytur Beach Club Hotel
 Aytur Beach Club Hotel is situated just 30 metres from the Aegean Sea on Sarmisakli Beach. It offers air-conditioned rooms with balconies, a Turkish … More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ayvalık: Guide
Ayvalık (Greek population although use of the name Ayvalık was widespread for centuries by both Turkish people|Turks and Greeks (pronounced as Ayvali by the latter).
Geography
Ayvalık is a district in Turkey's Balıkesir Province on the Aegean Sea coast, facing the Greek island of Lesbos. It is situated on a narrow coastal plain surrounded by low hills to the east which are covered with pine and olive trees. Ayvalık is also surrounded by Ayvalık Islands group on the sea and by a narrow peninsula in the south named Hakkıbey Peninsula. Ayvalık is the southernmost district of Balıkesir. Gömeç, Burhaniye and Edremit are other districts of Balıkesir Province which are situated on the Aegean Sea|Aegean shores and they are lined up respectively to the north. The region is under the influence of a typical Mediterranean climate with mild and rainy winters and hot, dry summers.
History
Various archeological finds and Roman and early Byzantine Empire|Byzantine periods. The constant threat posed by piracy in the region during the previous ages did not allow the islet settlements to grow larger and only Cunda Island|Cunda (formerly Nesos) could maintain a higher level of habitation as it is the largest and the closest islet to the mainland.
After the Byzantine period, the region came under the rule of Anatolian Turkish Beyliks|Anatolian Turkish Beylik of Karesi in the 13th century and was later annexed to the territory of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman beylik (principality), which was to become the Ottoman Empire later.
Until 1922, Ayvalık had a large Greeks|Greek population. Anecdotal evidence indicates that, immediately after the defeat in the naval Battle of Chesma (Çeşme), the Ottoman admiral (later ) Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha and men from the ships he could extirpate from the disaster, were lodged, on their frantic return to the capital, by a local priest in Ayvalık who did not know who they were. Hasan Pasha did not forget the kindness shown at that hour of crisis and when he became , accorded virtual autonomy to the Greek people|Greeks of Ayvalık, paving the way for its becoming an important cultural center for that community in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century.
The town was invaded by the Greek Army on 29 May 1919, and taken back three years later by Turkish Armies on 15 September 1922. After the Turkish Independence War, the Greek population in the town was replaced by a Muslim population from Greece under the 1923 agreement for the Exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey|Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations. Most of the new population that replaced the former Greek community were Muslim Turkish people|Turks from Lesbos Island|Mytilene, Crete and Greek Macedonia. One could still hear Greek spoken in the streets till recently. Many of the town's mosques are Greek Orthodox churches that have been converted.
Modern Ayvalık
Today, Ayvalık and the numerous islets encircling the bay area are popular holiday resorts. The most important and the biggest of these islets is Cunda Island|Cunda Island (Alibey Island) which was connected to the mainland by a bridge in the late 1960s.
Since September 1998, Ayvalık has had an international music academy (AIMA) which gives master classes for violin, viola and cello. It brings together students from all over the world and gives them a precious opportunity to work with distinguished masters of their branch.
Ayvalık also has two of the longest sandy beaches of the whole country which extend as far as the Dikili district of İzmir nearly 30 km in the south. These are Sarımsaklı and Altınova beaches.
In recent years Ayvalık has also become an important point of attraction for Scuba diving|scuba divers with its underwater fauna.
Ayvalık and its environs is famous for the highly appreciated quality of olive oil production.
Today, the population of Ayvalık is nearly 30,000 and much more during the summer due to its touristic importance. Ayvalık is also close to Bergama (former Pergamon) which is another important attraction for tourists with its ruins dating back to classical antiquity|antiquity.
With its rich architectural heritage, Ayvalık is a member of the Norwich-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions (EAHTR)
External links
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Ayvalık". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.