The story of Ayvalık Old Town

Ayvalık's ancient name, Kydonia, meant a kind of wild quince, and that name has endured since 330 BC. In antiquity the islands off this town on the Aegean, at the westernmost edge of Balıkesir, were called Hekatonisa, after a name of Apollo. Pliny wrote that Kydonia had a famous hot spring that flowed only in summer.

Today's Ayvalık was founded in 1430-1440 on a hill overlooking the harbour; the Ottomans set up a naval base on Alibey Island, and Greeks who later settled here soon outnumbered the Turks. The town first appears in Ottoman sources in a decree of 1772. It enjoyed its brightest days in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but after its Greek inhabitants joined the Greek uprising in 1821, much of it was emptied and it never regained its old vitality. As you wander, look for the houses and churches left by the Greeks.

The historic centre has been on UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List since 2017.