Ayvalık

Last update September 26, 2026

Ayvalık is situated on the Aegean coast between Istanbul and Izmir and is close to Lesbos so that you can see it from across the water. The old factory chimneys still rise above the town, being remnants from the time when it was the Ottoman Empire’s main centre for olive oil production, a history which has not disappeared. There are still some small boutique presses in operation and as you walk down the streets you will come across shop after shop selling olive oil, soap and olives within the first three streets.

When you walk around the old town you see Greek and Ottoman buildings next to one another, there are stone houses with coloured shutters and alleys made of cobblestones that don’t lead to any specific place. The Çınarlı Mosque was originally a Greek Orthodox church and was built in 1790, while the Taksiyarhis Memorial Museum is in fact a restored cathedral from 1844 and not a typical museum. These places don’t have the atmosphere of something you visit just to tick it off a list; instead they have the air of the town carrying on with its daily activities and its history still evident.

Cunda is not an island that visitors overlook; it is connected by a causeway and can be reached by boat or by road. Known as Alibey Island as well, it is the place where the Greek population left behind their churches, schools, and the entire architectural style when they left in 1923. Along the waterfront you can walk, enjoy mezze on a rooftop, and take your time. For a view that gives you a comprehensive overview of the whole coast, go eight kilometres south to Devil’s Feast, from where the Aegean, Lesbos and Ayvalık are all visible below.

If your timetable permits, please stay for a few days since Ayvalık isn’t suitable for a mere afternoon stop when you’re traveling between larger destinations. Instead, it offers a visit in which you get lost in the streets, sit down to have some seafood without looking at the time, and let the town’s slower pace affect yours.