The ruffled waters of Homer's "wine-dark sea," the Aegean, wash gently against a waterfront lined with impressive 19th-century neoclassical buildings, punctuated by the tall brick-chimneys of old Greek factories.

To the northwest, beyond the island of Cunda and across the shimmering waters of the Gulf of Edremit, rises the dramatic bulk of 1,774-meter Kaz Dağı, the ancient Mt. Ida, snow-capped until spring. West, framed by a network of islets and rocky promontories, looms Greece's third-largest island, Lesbos, little more than an atmospheric silhouette despite being a mere 10 nautical miles offshore. Behind the waterfront steep, narrow lanes twist and turn up the hill, their basalt-cobbled surfaces overlooked by rows of tightly packed stone houses, the facades of many enlivened by classical-style pilasters, columns and pediments.

This is Ayvalık, arguably the best-preserved Ottoman-era Greek market town in the Aegean -- rivaled only by Ermopouli on the Greek island of Syros. Take away the hum of traffic on the street running parallel to the seafront, imagine the bells tolling from one of the nearby monumental churches (now either derelict or converted into mosques), and it's not difficult to believe you have stepped back in time -- especially if one of the gaily painted wooden horse-drawn carts (they still make more sense than cars on these narrow 19th century streets) clatters past.

How to get there:

Nearest airport: İzmir

(approximately a two-hour drive south of Ayvalık) or intercity buses.

Where to stay:

Taksiyarhis Pansiyon: 0 (266) 312 1494

Bonjour Pansiyon: 0(266) 312 8085

Reading:

Rough, Lonely Planet and Blue guides; "Twice a Stranger," by Bruce Clark.

The Greeks who inhabited this charming Aegean waterfront town until relatively recently knew it as Kydoniae, derived from the Greek word for quince. Its modern equivalent, Ayvalık, is simply a Turkish translation from the Greek. It seems strange that a town named in two tongues after a hard and bitter fruit, the botanical antecedent of both apples and pears, is in fact far better known for its olives. Indeed the Ayvalık region boasts some 1,750,000 olive groves, yielding 7,000 tons of top-quality olive annually -- making it the largest producer in Turkey and one of the biggest in the world. The pale golden virgin oil is sold in little backstreet shops throughout the town, along with chunky bars of olive oil soap and, naturally enough, the succulent olive fruit itself.

Whilst the olive may be Ayvalık's economic raison d'être, tourism is an increasingly important source of revenue, especially the day-trippers from Lesbos, who come as much to take advantage of the generally lower prices of goods in Turkey as to gawk at Ayvalık. A few of the beautiful old houses in the town are being bought up and restored by wealthy İstanbulites, while others have been converted into delightful pensions with high wooden ceilings and a host of other "original" features. The absence of a town beach, though, has helped Ayvalık preserve its "working town" atmosphere and kept major tourist developments on its fringes -- especially on nearby Cunda and the long sandy beach of Sarımsaklı, seven kilometers to the south.

The Greek presence on the Aegean coast of Turkey stretches back at least three millennia, when colonists set out from mainland Greece and founded new cities all along this beautiful and fertile coast. Assos, for example, perhaps the most stunningly situated ancient city in the region (and an attractive day's outing from Ayvalık) dates back to the eighth century B.C. Ayvalık, by contrast, did not really get going until the 17th century, when Greek settlers from Lesbos found sanctuary from pirate raids in the secluded bay. Ayvalık's boom, however, began with one of those historical "accidents" which make studying the past so rewarding. Cezayirli Hasan Paşa, a captain in the Ottoman navy, ended up on the losing side of a confrontation with a Russian fleet. Shipwrecked, the captain was rescued by the Ayvalık Greeks. Twenty years later the ambitious and powerful Hasan Paşa, now grand vizier, remembered his saviors and in 1775 granted the Greeks of Ayvalık a series of privileges that ensured their town's prosperity. Muslims were forbidden from settling in the town, it was exempt from taxation and was virtually self-governing. It quickly became the wealthiest town on the Aegean seaboard after İzmir, reaching its apogee in the late 19th century -- look at the dates carved on the outside of many of the larger houses and public buildings and you'll find they were largely built between 1870 and 1910.

The wonderful collection of neoclassical houses, factories, warehouses and public buildings aside, there's very little to see in Ayvalık. Wandering through its cobbled alleys, pausing to admire a window-box of geraniums here and a street corner fountain there, is enough for most people -- perhaps followed by an amble down to one of the quaint waterfront cafes to watch the fishing boats bobbing along the quay. It's worth, though, seeking out the largest of the town's former churches, if only to gauge the wealth of the town in its heyday. Most obvious is the 19th-century church of Ayios Ioannis, now known as the Saatlı Camii (Mosque with a Clock) because of its prominent clock tower. Close by is Taksiyarhis, one of the few Greek churches that has not been either converted into a mosque or demolished. Unfortunately, it is not open to visitors at the moment, though it is well worth a wander around the exterior. Further back from the waterfront is the church of Ayios Yorgias, now the Çınarlı Camii, with an ornate guilt iconstasis still in place.

The entire Greek Orthodox Christian population of the town was expelled in 1922, following the defeat of the invading Greek army by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Turkish nationalist forces. During negotiations at Lausanne in 1923 Greece and the newly emerged Republic of Turkey formally agreed to exchange their minority populations (with a couple of notable exceptions), with the Muslims in Greece heading east to Turkey and the remaining Greek Orthodox Christian population of Anatolia west to Greece. This compulsory population exchange, arguably essential to prevent communal violence following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, was traumatic for all concerned. Ironically, the new arrivals to this lovely seafront town were Greek-speakers (albeit Muslim ones) mainly from nearby Lesbos and, more distant, Crete. The Cretan dialect of Greek is still spoken by many of the older generation, especially on nearby Cunda island, and is said to be purer in form than that spoken on Crete today.

The island of Cunda, also known as Alibey, is easily reached from Ayvalık either by boat or dolmuş (a bridge links it to the mainland via Lale Adası). The island's harbor town is a pretty, scaled-down version of Ayvalık, with beautiful neoclassical Greek buildings lining the waterfront. Behind, a warren of small lanes lead to the incongruously large 19th-century church of Aya Nikola, the restoration of which has fallen well behind its 2008 planned completion date. It's a captivating place, with a number of decent fish restaurants along the waterfront and quaint cafes tucked away in the backstreets. According to the ancient Geographer Pausanias, it was here on Cunda that a boy was saved from drowning by a dolphin he had befriended.

To gain a real appreciation of Ayvalık's wonderful setting, head south out of the town to Şeytan Sofrası (Devil's Dinner Table). Ostensibly, the attraction here is a hollow in the rock, according to local lore, the devil's footprint. The real draw, though, is the fabulous panoramic view from the headland across the islet-studded bay to Cunda, Ayvalık and Lesbos -- especially impressive at sunset. If you wish to swim, it's worth retracing your steps to the main road and heading a little further south to the beach at Sarımsaklı, one of the best on the Aegean coast.

With your own vehicle it's possible to head into the Madra Dan mountains east of the town. The hills here are covered in stunning umbrella pines, and the region is famed for its pine nuts and wine. There are plenty of wayside stalls here selling fresh local produce and a number of trout restaurants nestling beneath the trees. Beyond this mountain range, an hour-and-a-half drive from Ayvalık, is Bergama. Above this fascinating old town lies ancient Pergamon, one of the best-preserved ancient sites in Turkey and well worth exploring from your Ayvalık base.

There are plenty of towns and villages on the Aegean coast retaining traces of their Ottoman Greek past. But whereas Kayaköy, near Fethiye, is virtually deserted and crumbling, Kalkan over-gentrified and completely given over to tourism and İzmir's Greek quarter largely destroyed following the retreat of the Greek army in 1922, Ayvalık has retained much of its Ottoman Greek heritage. Most obvious are the town's buildings. But add to this the fact that many of Ayvalık's inhabitants are the descendents of (Muslim) migrants from Greece and some still speak Greek, you can easily see why the town and its environs are so unique and worthy of visiting.



24 February 2009, Tuesday


TERRY RICHARDSON AYVALIK