Ayvalık (Ayvalık İlçesi)
Ayvalık is a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkey. It is a district of Balıkesir province. The town centre is connected to Cunda Island by a causeway and is surrounded by the archipelago of Ayvalık Islands, which face the nearby Greek island of Lesbos
Ayvalık ('Quince Orchard') was an ancient Aeolian Greek port-town, called Kydonies (Κυδωνίες). Its name was changed to Ayvalık in the Ottoman era. Before 1923 the town was predominantly Greek, and although the Turks used its Turkish name, the Greeks used both the old name Kydonies and the new one Hellenised to Aivali (Αϊβαλί). The Greeks knew Cunda Island as Moschonisia (literally "The Perfumed Islands") while the Turks called it Alibey Island (Alibey Adası).
Under the Ottomans Ayvalık had a flourishing olive-oil-production industry and the chimneys of the old factories can still be seen about town. In modern times production has revived in a smaller-scale boutique format.
Daily ferries operate between Ayvalık and Mytilene on nearby Lesbos Island, Greece, during the summer with a reduced service in winter.
The nearest airport to Ayvalık is Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport (EDO) near Edremit.
Ayvalık is the southernmost district of Balıkesir province and lies between Edremit Gulf and Dikili Gulf of the Aegean Sea. Its centre is situated on a narrow coastal plain surrounded by low hills to the east which are covered with pine and olive trees. Ayvalık is surrounded by the archipelago of the Ayvalık Islands (the largest of which is Cunda Island) in the west, and by a narrow peninsula in the south named the Hakkıbey Peninsula.
South of Ayvalık are Altınova and Küçükköy/Sarımsaklı which have long pristine beaches. To the north are Gömeç, Burhaniye and Edremit. Dikili district of Izmir Province is to the south of Ayvalık. To the east of Ayvalık lies Bergama, with the remains of ancient Pergamon.
The Greek island of Lesbos is west of Ayvalık and connected to it by ferry.
Ayvalık ('Quince Orchard') was an ancient Aeolian Greek port-town, called Kydonies (Κυδωνίες). Its name was changed to Ayvalık in the Ottoman era. Before 1923 the town was predominantly Greek, and although the Turks used its Turkish name, the Greeks used both the old name Kydonies and the new one Hellenised to Aivali (Αϊβαλί). The Greeks knew Cunda Island as Moschonisia (literally "The Perfumed Islands") while the Turks called it Alibey Island (Alibey Adası).
Under the Ottomans Ayvalık had a flourishing olive-oil-production industry and the chimneys of the old factories can still be seen about town. In modern times production has revived in a smaller-scale boutique format.
Daily ferries operate between Ayvalık and Mytilene on nearby Lesbos Island, Greece, during the summer with a reduced service in winter.
The nearest airport to Ayvalık is Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport (EDO) near Edremit.
Ayvalık is the southernmost district of Balıkesir province and lies between Edremit Gulf and Dikili Gulf of the Aegean Sea. Its centre is situated on a narrow coastal plain surrounded by low hills to the east which are covered with pine and olive trees. Ayvalık is surrounded by the archipelago of the Ayvalık Islands (the largest of which is Cunda Island) in the west, and by a narrow peninsula in the south named the Hakkıbey Peninsula.
South of Ayvalık are Altınova and Küçükköy/Sarımsaklı which have long pristine beaches. To the north are Gömeç, Burhaniye and Edremit. Dikili district of Izmir Province is to the south of Ayvalık. To the east of Ayvalık lies Bergama, with the remains of ancient Pergamon.
The Greek island of Lesbos is west of Ayvalık and connected to it by ferry.
Map - Ayvalık (Ayvalık İlçesi)
Map
Country - Turkey
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| Flag of Turkey | |
One of the world's earliest permanently settled regions, present-day Turkey was home to important Neolithic sites like Göbekli Tepe, and was inhabited by ancient civilisations including the Hattians, Hittites, Anatolian peoples, Mycenaean Greeks, Persians and others. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great which started the Hellenistic period, most of the ancient regions in modern Turkey were culturally Hellenised, which continued during the Byzantine era. The Seljuk Turks began migrating in the 11th century, and the Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into small Turkish principalities. Beginning in the late 13th century, the Ottomans united the principalities and conquered the Balkans, and the Turkification of Anatolia increased during the Ottoman period. After Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, Ottoman expansion continued under Selim I. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire became a global power. From the late 18th century onwards, the empire's power declined with a gradual loss of territories. Mahmud II started a period of modernisation in the early 19th century. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 restricted the authority of the Sultan and restored the Ottoman Parliament after a 30-year suspension, ushering the empire into a multi-party period. The 1913 coup d'état put the country under the control of the Three Pashas, who facilitated the Empire's entry into World War I as part of the Central Powers in 1914. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Greek and Assyrian subjects. After its defeat in the war, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRY | Turkish lira | ₺ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| AV | Avar language |
| AZ | Azerbaijani language |
| KU | Kurdish language |
| TR | Turkish language |