Ayvalik: Greeks' indelible memory -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turkey's well-guarded secret - and once the Aeolian capital - still holdsits charm, with many Greek nuances ALEX PENMAN The tall chimneys of once Greek factories rise above most of Ayvalik's buildings THE NAME Ayvalik is quite familiar to Greeks. As with Constantinople and Smyrna, it is associated with drama and disaster. In the serene beauty of the town's cobbled streets and mansions, its ruined churches and surrounding gulf, a Greek can still sense the desperate cries of those uprooted and exiled. Here is the heart of Ilias Venezis' Aeolian Land...

To Turks, Ayvalik is simply a town associated with Mediterranean culture. To other nationalities, it is an unheard-of spot on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, devoid of connotations. Unknown to, and unspoiled by, mass tourism, Ayvalik is one of Turkey's best guarded secrets. The town's Greek name is Kydonies (quince-trees) and Ayvalik the Turkish translation. It is not particularly old. About 400 years ago people fleeing from continuous pirate raids on Lesvos and other Aegean islands judged that the gulf, surrounded by land on all sides, was safe enough to settle in. The town soon became one of the most prosperous Greek settlements of its time - due to sheer luck. Grand Vizier and Captain of the Ottoman fleet Cezayirli Hasan PaIa, shipwrecked, was saved by local Greeks after a disastrous defeat by the Russians. Grateful, he secured special privileges for the town: exemption from most taxes, self-government and a law banning Muslim families from settling in the region. Despite massacres following the Greek Revolution in 1821, the town soon recovered to become a major oil and soap producer, keeping up with the trends set by cosmopolitan Smyrna in education, art and society. It boasted an academy, a printing house, renowned hotels and cafes and more than two dozen churches and monasteries.

Oddly enough, an exclusively Greek population until the Asia Minor Destruction (1922) for the most part used the Turkish name, hellenised as Ayvali. Today, though there are no Greeks left, little has changed since turn-of-the-century photos. Minarets may stand beside the much higher chimneys of old Greek factories, as most churches were converted to mosques. A horrendous building, the army headquarters, may dominate the hill above the town, the site of a demolished church. And a Turkish flag may be carved on the hillside - a custom in former Greek towns. But the waterfront is still dominated by impressive stone buildings of late 19th-century Greek factories, identical to the ones in Mytilene, Kavala, Piraeus. The old Greek schools are now used as Turkish schools or government offices. Ayvalik is a quaint little neoclassical town living with its memories. Architecture and atmosphere Greek cafe in Ayvalik Abandoning persistent efforts to erase the country's non-Turkish past, many Turks began to take pride in their country's cosmopolitan heritage. Ayvalik's Greek architecture - typical of Asia Minor - is widely acclaimed as one of its jewels. As in parts of Istanbul, Greek urban architecture of the 1870-1910s is in a much better state than in most Greek towns. Together with Syros' Ermopouli, Ayvalik is the best preserved neoclassical commercial town in the Aegean. Its heart is eskele Meydanu, a small square by the port bearing Ataturk's bust. At the end of a pier stands Ayvalik's most famous landmark, Cafe Kanelo. Immortalised in hundreds of photos, it was once the favourite hangout for Asia Minor Greek s (after those on Smyrna's illustrious promenade)

- the Quay. The honey-coloured stone building is a marvel of Asia Minor neoclassicism. Nearly a century past its prime, the cafe serves beverages and the famous Ayvalik toast, the local speciality. From the terrace one can enjoy the magnificent sunsets in the gulf, sipping Turkish apple tea. A line of outrageously priced restaurants of mediocre quality precedes the cafe: they are to be avoided. Ayvalik's main street passes through Iskele Meydani. Most banks and other offices are located here. From it depart several "kaldirims", cobbled streets that either ascend towards the hills or end at the shore. One leads to Agios Ioannis, now the Saatli Cami or Mosque with the Clock. The original church was transformed into a mosque with the addition of a minaret, but it kept its belfry and clock. Its frescoes were whitewashed and the icons disappeared. The minaret collapsed in a storm last autumn, and the site is now closed for restoration. A few yards away stands Ayvalik's most impressive church, Agios Georgios, blending neoclassicism with Byzantine tradition - a typical mix for the rich commercial towns of Asia Minor Greeks. Once richly decorated and now carefully restored, it has an impressive iconostasis and ceiling. The icons have been removed, something to upset any Greek, but the pulpit or amvon and throne have been kept. A third church, Taksiarhis, is also nearby inside a small yard, separated from the street by an ornate porch. As it was not converted into a mosque, most of its decoration survives - including an original icon of Adam and Eve. But this Ayvalik treasure is in a state of decay. Some of the icons are said to be painted on fish skin. Many have been stolen, as has been a famous Gospel, also covered in painted fish skin. This led the municipality to lock the church, and its guardians now require a permit to be produced before they allow anyone in. But say you are "an Exchange" child from Greece, ie the descendant of local Greeks driven out in 1922, and this will help you bypass all such obstacles in Ayvalik, human compassion taking precedence. Don't, though, try this if you don't speak good Greek - most of the guardians do. There is no point in asking directions to the churches - use the minarets to guide you. Most of the street names are not noted anyway, and the chaotic warren of cobbled roads and tiny alleys deserves meticulous exploration. Some are covered with pergolas. Walking, one has the impression of entering the past. There is a parade of brightly painted houses with "djumbas" (the covered projections characteristic of Ottoman architecture), wrought-iron window grilles in the most diverse patterns and doorways with opulently carved decoration. Their dates show that most of the houses were built in the period 1880-1913. Occasionally, a fountain stands at a crossroads; through an open window, one may admire the frescoes on a ceiling; outrageously painted horsecarts race down the "kaldirims". In the evening, the alleys are virtually deserted, even in summertime. There are hardly any cars, few tourists and absolutely no crowds. The only busy spots are the fish restaurants by the port and the old-style cafes scattered around the old town: impressive stone buildings with columns, meanders and huge rounded windows, identical to those found on Lesvos, a few miles away. Inside some, iron-and-marble tables survive. Turkish coffee and preserves are served to an exclusively male clientele of idle youth or pensioners chatting the evening away. The islands and Moshonissi (Djunda) Cafe Kanelo Ayvalik is termed "the island town of Turkey". A visitor must join one of the boat tours of the gulf and its many islets. Boats from various companies depart from Iskele Meydani (the one with the best reputation is called Jale). The six-hour tour includes stops for swimming, sightseeing in the town on Moshonissi (now Djunda - the largest and the only inhabited island), riotously kitsch entertainment and a tasty lunch of fried fish and salad. All this is on offer for 7,500,000 turkish liras, ie less than 5 euros! It is great fun and it is likely you will be the only tourist aboard. The waters are cool and transparent, the array of islands with their ruins of churches and monasteries very scenic and the gulf itself is acknowledged to be an underwater photographer's paradise. Moshonissi is worth spending time on. Ferries connect it to Ayvalik every half hour, from early morning until midnight. Unfortunately, a bridge also now connects the island with the shore, making it easily accessible for cars during the summer. Ignoring the thousands of villas constructed in a style that aspires to fuse the baroque with Las Vegas, the visitor should concentrate on the old parts of the town, a tribute to Asia Minor neoclassicism. Some mansions were left to collapse; many more have been taken up by wealthy people from Istanbul and been beautifully restored. Moshonissi is built on the slopes overlooking Ayvalik and the gulf. The promenade is lined with cafes and eateries. Food on offer is cheaper and much better than in Ayvalik's mediocre establishments. Of the cafes, the most exciting is the old TaI Cafe (Stone Cafe), a beautiful Greek coffee-shop. Its enormous doors and windows with coloured glass panes and nostalgic decor inside make the difference. The largest building, in the centre of town, is the impressive church of Taksiarhis. This also escaped conversion, like its Ayvalik namesake, but - victim of an earthquake and prolonged abandonment - it is also decaying rapidly. Despite its depressing state, the frescoes barely visible, the interior still enchants with the ingenious use of colours, lines and curves. Steep cobble ascents lead from the town to the hills and the ruins of two Greek chapels, both used as olive and wood storehouses for decades. The view over the town, the gulf and Ayvalik is breathtaking. The rest of the island, with its steep slopes, ruined monasteries and deserted beaches is a paradise for trekking and the best hangouts for those wanting to avoid the crowds on the beaches close to Ayvalik. The beach of Pateritsa, on the other side of Moshonissi, is the most obvious choice. The inhabitants The picturesque quay The population that replaced the Greeks in Ayvalik and Moshonissi will be of particular interest to anyone coming from Greece. Greeks have left but some of their language survived: an odd Greek dialect is still spoken in alleys and squares. It is Cretan. The newcomers were Muslims, mostly from Crete and Lesvos. Those of the original refugees who survive are now in their eighties and nineties but their offspring still make up the majority of the population in the region. Those forced out of Christian Greece, considered Turks just because they were Muslim (Tourkokritikoi), didn't speak a word of Turkish. They stuck to their mother tongue, passing it on to their children and grandchildren. It is a paradox of history that today, the purest Cretan - uncorrupted by the unifying tendencies of modern Greek - is spoken in Ayvalik. You will hear to kopeli mou (my son), na smiksume (let's meet), to deili (the sunset); and a lot of men go about in typical black Cretan headgear. Coming from Greece, you are guaranteed a warm reception. They will want to complain about the Exchange, tell you how difficult it was to get used to Turkey and how happy they would be to return to Hania or Rethymno. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://p205.ezboard.com/bcyprianascorner73624 Edited by: Cypriana22 at: 6/10/04 11:22 pm