Weekend in Ayvalık

As I mentioned in a previous footprint, we added Ayvalık as a weekend getaway because Murat, my brother-in-law, had a swim meet. Mui’s sister, Işıl, and another swimmer, Ömer, and his wife, Gülşen, also joined us.

Ayvalık is a seaside town on Turkey’s Aegean Coast … about 1.5 hours north of İzmir … in the province of Balıkesir. What used to be a small, charming village when we used to visit Ayvalık during my childhood, has grown in leaps and bounds. Just like so many other seaside towns.

We drove up from İzmir Saturday morning, 25 September. After checking into Çınar Hotel, overlooking Sarımsaklı Beach, we convoyed back to the downtown area where we had lunch at a restaurant in the Macaron neighborhood … before moving to a “muhallebici” (pudding shop) for dessert — pudding made with almonds and mastic. A short stroll to stretch our legs and then to Çamlık (literally translated as the place of pines) for afternoon tea … though some of us opted for ice cream instead.

Since breakfast and dinner were included in the room rate, we returned to the hotel for our evening meal … thus establishing the modus operandi for our two night stay.

The 26th was the date of the swim meet. Some in our party went to watch the meet. Others went to Cunda, a nearby island that we used to visit by boat when I was a youngster. Today, the island is connected to the mainland via bridges. It was very hot in the sun, so we skipped sightseeing and limited our after lunch stroll to the shopping district where there was at least a bit of shade. We enjoyed tasty pastries and tea at the home of Aylin and Murat’s friends … Aylin & Ali … in the delightful setting of their garden,

Today, the 27th, we checked out of the hotel mid-morning, but weren’t quite ready to head back to İzmir. Some in our party went to Çamlık again … for lunch and sweet treats. The rest of us drove downtown for a stroll through the back streets, lined with colorful buildings. Along the way, a bit of shopping didn’t go amiss. Our stroll eventually took us to Aşkın Tost Evi, a small shack-of-a-place that was recommended as being “the” place to eat Ayvalık tostu … best described as a panini filled with local cheese and sucuk (Turkish chorizo/sausage).

After reconnecting with the rest of our party at Çamlık, where we all enjoyed sweet treats, we headed back to İzmir.

Thus, we have wrapped up another short getaway. Our next getaway is best categorized as a side trip, but we might have a few outings to share in the interim.Read more