Blogs from Ayvalik, Aegean, Turkey, Middle East
September 23rd 2010
Ayvalik: The hotel in Izmir was not as cheap as we thought - 50 lira per person per night not 50 lira for the room. Still reasonable value though. We took a taxi to the otogar where we easily got a bus to Avalik. We booked into the Aziz Arslan Otel (where we stayed two years ago) then headed out to Sheytan Sofrasi - the devil's dinner table. About an hour easy walk from where the bus dropped us. It is very beautiful up there. The views are immense. So immense that they are hard to take in. It was extremely windy. There are several cafes up there and some of them play loud music. Most people though go up in vehicles so the walks there and back were quiet. In the evening we drank beer ... read more
September 23rd 2009
After conferring with our Turkish hosts we decided to head north to Assos. Assos was founded in 8th century BC by colonists from the island of Lesvos. Under the rule of Hermeias, a one-time student of Plato, the city enjoyed great prosperity. Hermeias encouraged philosophers live in Assos and Aristotle himself lived there for about 3 years and married Hermeias‘ niece, Phythia. Unfortunately for Hermeias, the Persians invaded and ended up crucifying him, and forced Plato to leave. We spent the morning tromping around the ruins of the Temple of Athena. Before we left the village we bought some slippers for my mother, Dorothy. ... read more
September 25th 2008
The trip from Foca to Ayvalic was mainly uneventful. Most of it on a very good, modern highway. We didn't find a wireless connection in Ayvalic although, to be honest, we didn't look too hard. Ayvalic is serious relaxation. Well, apart from the traffic which is terrifying. We finally found a place to park the car then a hotel where no English was spoken (very good for my Turkish and my confidence in using it). After settling in we walked to the causeway to Ali Bey Island then back which made most of the taxi and dolmus drivers think we were crazy. We just wanted to see that area which is where many of the cheaper properties are. We had ayran and shared an Ayvalic tost (a very mixed tostie with many nice things in it) ... read more
September 8th 2008
Ars Gratia Vitae - Homer and Us Taksiyarhis Pansiyon, Ayvalık - September 8th Oh dear. I find myself among the scattered bones of Troy, and not really certain either what to think or what I'm doing here. As the sun beats down on Troia II - how these numbers make the city sound like Tracey Island! - I find what I take to be the nearest thing to the Scaean Gate, and play a kind of sortes Homericae to pass the time between now and the next thought. Somewhat inevitably, my eye is drawn to Book XXII and the last, bloody stand of Hector before the eyes of his parents, the prime mobile of the Iliad's plot. Yet these stately verses, describing as they do the flight of a hero who knows nothing but valour, and ... read more
May 1st 2008
From Akcay it was a 50km, gently rolling ride to the town of Ayvalik, relatively quick but somewhat painful due to the level of traffic back on the big D550 highway. In Ayvalik we did a quick survey of in-town accomodations but then decided to head out to Alibey Island, a 10km ride across the harbor causeway from Ayvalik proper. After a pointless ride over the island's steep spine to the Lonely Planet's favorite Ada Camp yielded only expensive 100YTL bungalows (the punatively-priced 6YTL beers were really the deal-killers), we rode back to explore picturesque little Alibey town itself. Here we discovered the comfortable Pansiyon Osgun, 50YTL including - big plus - our own kitchen, and checked in for a couple of nights, once again privileged to have an entire guesthouse all to ourselves. The next ... read more
September 21st 2007
16/09/2007.We left Marmaris early to travel to Selçuk. It was a fantastic journey that took us ınto the mountains wıth great vıews of the fertile plains below. Along the way there were roadsıde stalls sellıng what looked lıke stuffed donkeys or goats, not sure what that was about!Selçuk is a great little town full of Stork nests and ruıns from Greek, Roman, Byzantýne and Ottoman tımes. Claıre's most pıcturesque place so far.Whilst there we visited the ancient Greek/Roman City of Ephesus (twice). Its a vast sıte whıch I have to admit I liked even more than Pompeii in Italy. It's a definate must see for any archeological fans (Colin!).During the nights there we were woken at about 2 am each mornıng by a lone and loud drummer which, we learned later was to wake people to ... read more
June 6th 2007
Week 1 Forest Baker and Annie Kallusurl='/Videos/3585.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3585.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;' Istanbul Concerturl='/Videos/3586.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3586.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;' Climbing Gallipoli Bluffsurl='/Videos/3599.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3599.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;' Farmers near Troyurl='/Videos/3602.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3602.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;' Prayer call Blue Mosqueurl='/Videos/3601.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3601.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;' Riding through goats Well, we made it to Turkey. Our review of Turkish Airlines: Good legroom, poor service, nice goodies- Forest, as witnessed in th... read more
July 5th 2006
Now, I know that I only updated my blog a couple of days ago and not that all that much has happened but what the heck. OK, from having having a gale force head wind I rounded the corner at Edmerit and had a gale force tail wind. Normally I would consider this a boon and, ofcourse I much prefer a tail wind to a head wind any ol' day, but it still makes cycling on a dual carriageway kind of tough. Especially with the truck traffic that goes past and being caught up in their wind tunnels... But, I almost flew up the hills and probably would have been in Ayvalik by midday had I not had yet ANOTHER flat tyre. This really was bordering on the ridiculous. There I was yet again wheeling my ... read more
October 8th 2004
I ended up really liking Ayvalik so I'm still here. I think I'll leave tomorrow and head down to Izmir. Note I still claim to be on my way to Canakkale (even though I'm heading south instead of north). My first daytime assault on Cunda failed miserably, as I realized I was getting sick as soon as I arrived, and after a short face-saving walk around the town I was forced to head back and spend the rest of the day in bed. I was feeling much better the next morning. My second attack started in the early afternoon. I am having difficulty finding a decent map of the area, so I apologize in advance for meaningless prepositions. I had heard that apart from the town area there was a "natural reserve" in the back of ... read more
