*** Welcome to piglix ***

Ayvalik

Ayvalık
Town
A view of the Çamlık area of Ayvalık and the Ayvalık Islands archipelago in the Aegean Sea, with the Greek island of Lesbos on the horizon, at left.
A view of the Çamlık area of Ayvalık and the Ayvalık Islands archipelago in the Aegean Sea, with the Greek island of Lesbos on the horizon, at left.
Ayvalık is located in Turkey
Ayvalık
Ayvalık
Location of Ayvalık within Turkey.
Coordinates: 39°19′10″N 26°41′40″E / 39.31944°N 26.69444°E / 39.31944; 26.69444Coordinates: 39°19′10″N 26°41′40″E / 39.31944°N 26.69444°E / 39.31944; 26.69444
Country  Turkey
Region Aegean
Province Balıkesir
Government
 • Mayor Rahmi Gençer (CHP)
Area
 • District 265.37 km2 (102.46 sq mi)
Population (2012)
 • Urban 37,197
 • District 64,153
 • District density 240/km2 (630/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 10400
Area code(s) +90 (266)
Licence plate 10
Website http://www.ayvalik.bel.tr/

Ayvalık (Turkish: [ˈajvaɫɯk]; Greek: Αϊβαλί, Κυδωνίες) is a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkey. It is a district of Balıkesir Province. The town center of Ayvalık is surrounded by the archipelago of Ayvalık Islands, which face the nearby Greek island of Lesbos.

It was alternatively called Kydonies (Κυδωνίες) by the town's former Greek population; although the use of the name Ayvalık was widespread for centuries among both the Turks and the Greeks, pronounced as Ayvali (Αϊβαλί) by the latter.

Ayvalık is a district in Turkey's Balıkesir Province on the Aegean Sea coast. It is situated on a narrow coastal plain surrounded by low hills to the east which are covered with pine and olive trees. Ayvalık is also surrounded by the archipelago of the Ayvalık Islands (the largest of which is Cunda Island) on the sea and by a narrow peninsula in the south named the Hakkıbey Peninsula. Ayvalık is the southernmost district of Balıkesir. Gömeç, Burhaniye and Edremit are other districts of the Balıkesir Province which are situated on the Aegean shores and they are lined up respectively to the north. The region is under the influence of a typical Mediterranean climate with mild and rainy winters and hot, dry summers.

Ayvalık was located in the ancient region named Aeolis in antiquity. The ruins of three important ancient cities are within a short driving distance away from Ayvalık: Assos and Troy are to the north, while Pergamon is to the east. Mount Ida (Turkish: Kaz Dağı) which plays an important role in ancient Greek mythology and folk tales (such as the cult of Cybele; the Sibylline books; the Trojan War and the epic poem Iliad of Homer; the nymph Idaea (wife of the river god Scamander); Ganymede (the son of Tros); Paris (the son of Priam); Aeneas (the son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite) who is the protagonist of the ancient Roman epic poem Aeneid of Virgil) is also near Ayvalık (to the north) and can be seen from numerous areas in and around the town center.


...
Wikipedia

...