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We reached Ayvalik, a vibrant Turkish tourist area, towards the end of July. Sailing in company with Rhumbline from Bademli northwards, we entered through the southern pass into the vast archipelago of islands with great anticipation. We expected that this might be the northernmost point of our summer cruising, and we were looking forward to a break from fighting our way north during the meltemi winds.
The archipelago is composed of islands surrounding a large bay carved out of the mainland. This main bay, entered by a shallow but navigable channel, is about 3 miles in diameter, and approximately 9-10 metres deep everywhere. With its muddy bottom, and many coves and inner bays with even less water (about 2-3 metres mostly), it was an easy place to lose ourselves for a while.
The town itself is quite small (pop: 30,000) though it grows substantially during the summer. It’s not a particularly wealthy area, but it sports some charming homes and parks. It is a prime growing area for olives, and there are numerous oil-producing factories both in and out of town. This we discovered both by trekking around as we usually do, and by the unbelievable and pervading smell of olives being pressed. We grabbed the opportunity to stock up on excellent oil and martini olives.
We stayed in the Ayvalik area for about 6 weeks, anchoring in the inner bays of the main bay, “out in the islands”, and occasionally tying up at the Setur Marina in the town.
It was an unfortunate result of the shallow, muddy bay, with its single entrance/exit, that the jellyfish population was overwhelming. Big purple ones, with huge tentacles, and a reputation for major stings. Ergo, we didn’t do much swimming except out in the islands.
But the hiking was great, the weather was terrific, and the people who live around there were very friendly and welcoming. Many spoke some English too, easing the sometimes significant challenge we have in learning Turkish.
One other important characteristic of the area was the
quality of the produce.
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| Ayvalik Bay | Rocky entrance to one of Ayvalik’s inner bays | Houses along Ayvalik’s waterfront | |
