Turkey has so much to offer her visitors: breathtaking natural beauties, unique historical and archeological sites, steadily improving hotel and touristic infrastructure, a tradition of hospitality and competitive prices. It is not surprising therefore that this country has recently become one of the world's most popular tourism destinations.

Due to Turkey's diverse geography, one can experience four different climates in any one day. The rectangular shaped country is washed on three sides by three different seas. Its shores are laced with beaches, bays, coves, ports, islands and peninsulas.

The summers are long, lasting as long as eight months in some areas. Turkey is also blessed with majestic mountains and valleys, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and grottoes perfect for winter and summer tourism and sports of all kinds.

LOCATION AND DISPLACEMENT FROM CITIES

BALIKESIR-AYVALIK : 127 Km
BANDIRMA-AYVALIK : 223 Km
ISTANBUL-TEKIRDAG-ÇANAKKALE-AYVALIK : 488 Km
ISTANBUL-IZMIT-BURSA -AYVALIK: : 520 Km
ANKARA-AFYON-IZMIR-AYVALIK : 738 Km
EFES-AYVALIK : 240 Km

DISPLACEMENT FROM AIRPORT

IZMIR AIRPORT : 150 KM
EDREMIT AIRPORT : 45 KM
DISPLACEMENT FROM NEAREST CITY CENTRE
AYVALIK CENTRE : 3 KM
CUNDA ISLAND : 2 KM

DISPLACEMENT FROM SHOPPING CENTRE

AYVALIK CENTRE :3 KM
CUNDA ISLAND :2 KM

DISPLACEMENT FROM HISTORICAL PLACES

BERGAMA : 50 KM
ÇANAKKALE : 170 KM
TRUVA : 125 KM
ASOS : 80 KM
KAZ DAÄžLARI : 40 KM

NEAREST HEALTH INSTITUTE : PUBLIC HOSPITAL

LOCALITY : AYVALIK CENTRE
DISPLACEMENT : 3 Km

INTERCOMMUNICATION : TAXI-BUS-PRIVATE CAR

HALIC PARK TAXI STATION : It is in the enter of the otel.
BUS STATION : It is in the enter of the otel.

1- İstanbul - Tekirdağ - Çanakkale - Ayvalık 488 km
2 - İstanbul - İzmit - Bursa - Ayvalık 520 km
3 - Ankara - Eskişehir - Bursa - Ayvalık 675 km
4 - Ankara - Afyon - İzmir - Ayvalık 738 km

Adres : : 15 Eylül Cad No:1 10400 Ayvalık / Balıkesir - TURKEY

Haliç Park Konum : Ada üzerine kurulu olup karayolu bağlantılıdır.

Cunda Island, also called Alibey Island, (Turkish: Cunda Adası, Alibey Adası; Greek: Εκατόνησα Hekatonisa or Μοσχονήσι/Moshonisi) is a small island in the northwestern Aegean Sea off the coast of Ayvalık, part of Balıkesir Province of Turkey. With an area of 23 km², it is by far the largest island in the Ayvalık Islands group. It is located 16 km east of Lesbos, Greece. The population numbered about 5,000 in 2000.

Cunda is linked to Ayvalık on the mainland by a causeway. The island has a typical resort town, Alibey, and a bus and ferry link to Ayvalık.

The island's former Greek population was expelled in the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey and was replaced by Muslims from Crete, Cretan Turks. The main landmark of Alibey village remains the large former Greek Orthodox cathedral, now abandoned and dilapidated.
Broken stairs at interior of Cunda Cathedral

Poroselene bay in the north of the island is probably the island's major "sight." In antiquity, it was the home of a dolphin who saved a drowning boy, mentioned by Pausanias.

In 2007 after a two-year-work, all 551 buildings in Cunda Island were inspected and registered by Turkish Science Academy and Yıldız Technical University Faculty of Architecture within the "Turkey Culture Inventory Project".

Located 100 km from north of İzmir in the Bakırçay river basin, Bergama is one of the Turkey's oldest civilized settlements which, has been inhabited from pre-historic times through the Ionic, Roman and Byzantine civilizations. It has yielded archeological treasures of which importance is recognized world-wide.To the southwest of Bergama, Asclepion, an important health center of the ancient world, the acropolis founded on top of a steep hill (300 m) and the Temple of Serapis (Kızıl Avlu) make this area a fascinating stop for history-loving tourists. The Altar of Zeus was smuggled to Germany in 1897.

History

The modern day name, comes directly from its ancient name, Pergamum. Known for centuries for its monuments, it was a great city and served as the centre of Pergamum kingdom. Its location made it strategic in the Middle Ages and was the centre of the KaresioÄŸullari Principality before it finally became a part of the Ottoman State. The city's golden era was during the reign of Attalos I and his son Eumenes II, the time when an acropolis, theatre and other important projects were completed. It was an important city in the Roman period. The city experienced many developments during the reign of Hadrian (117-138 AD), and it was adorned with Roman works of art. In the Byzantine era after the spread of Christianity, Bergama was first under the influence of the bishopric of Ephesus, and then became a metropolis.

Climate

The Mediterranean Climate dominates the region. Summers are hot and dry while winters are mild and rainy.

Çanakkale is one of the select cities of both Turkey and the world; it is located to northwest of Turkey which is very important for human’s history and is positioned in a unique geography in both sides of the same-named Strait which separates Europe and Asia continents and embraces thousands of years of historical richness and hosting great legends and mythology.

Çanakkale is surrounded by Balıkesir to the east and southeast and by Aegean Sea to the west and by Edirne to the northwest and by Tekirdag and Marmara Sea to the north. Çanakkale called in ancient times as HELLESPONTOS and DARDANELLES has always been a place of settlement since about 3200 B.C. Under rule of Sultan Fatih the Conqueror, cattles have been built in narrowest points of the Strait; Kilitbahir Castle around Sestos in European (Roumelian) side and Sultaniye (Kale-i Sultaniye) or Çanak Castle around Abydos in Anatolian side. Today, Çanakkale takes its name from Çanak Castle in Anatolian side. This castle is called Çimenlik nowadays.

The city having a surface area of 9737 square kilometers extends over both Aegean and Marmara regions. Its coastal length is 671 kilometers. On the score of coastal length, it ranks 2nd largest after Muğla. The Clock Tower built in 1897 upon order of Emily Vitalis, an Italian Merchant and Consular, is one of the City’s symbol monuments. It is nearby the pier. This tower built of Ayvalık stone has clocks on all of its four faces. Another symbol of the city is Aynalı Çarşı (Bazaar with Mirror) which was built in 1889 upon order of Ilia Halyo under Abdulhamit rule and which is told about in famous Çanakkale Folk-song. Many stories are told about the bazaar.

Çanakkale is an important place of settlement since Early Bronze Age; it is one of two natural city formations which, thanks to Çanakkale Strait, ensures linkage between Anatolia and Europe and between Mediterranean and Black Sea. The strait’s length is 65 kms (35 miles) and its width is 1 km to 6 kms (0.75 – 4 miles). Average depth is about 100 meters (328 feet).

Çanakkale climate shifts between Mediterranean and Black Sea climates as a requisite of its position.

Çanakkale city trip can be started from Çimenlik Castle and then visiting such other places and venues as Aynalı Çarşı, Havra (Synagogue), Bazaar Street, Republican Square, Public Garden, Kordon, Yalı Street.

Çanakkale is a centre of sea and tourism thanks to its fish-rich clean shores and Kaz Mountains (Ida) where Helenic Mythology and Turkmen legends are intertwined and where Zeus had watched and then intervened in Troia (Trojan) Wars; as well as to Gökçeada (Imroz), largest island of Turkey, and touristic island Bozcaada (Tenedos). Çanakkale is a paradise where day to day life is still easy thanks to university, tourism-oriented high-caliber hotels and exclusive tastes from Aegean cuisine culture.

Among noteworthy historical, cultural and touristic places of Çanakkale are Dardanos Tumulus, which is one of the oldest known tumuluses, on the Izmir road, embracing oldest settlement traces of Çanakkale, and Nara Castle in Anatolian side of the Strait with a 5 km distance to Çanakkale, Hasan Mevsuf  Martyrs’ Cemetery built in memory of First Lieutenant Hasan and Lieutenant Mevsuf, as commanders of Dardanos battery, who have done great service and died in Çanakkale Sea Battles, and Kepez and Kepezaltı as resort area of Çanakkale by the side of Çanakkale Strait at Izmir exit and Güzelyalı Shore as a nice holiday centre in clean waters of the Strait with a 14 km distance to City Center. Troia, Nrandria, Alexandria Troas, Assos, Chryse and Lamsakos, which are significant places of world archeological literature, all lie within the boundaries of Çanakkale.

TROY :

Today there is a Turkish town called Truva in the vicinity of the archaeological site, but this town has grown up recently to service the tourist trade. The archaeological site is officially called Troia by the Turkish government and appears as such on many maps.

A large number of tourists visit the site each year, mostly coming from Istanbul by bus or by ferry via Çanakkale, the nearest major town about 50 km to the north-east. The visitor sees a highly commercialised site, with a large wooden horse built as a playground for children, then shops and a museum. The archaeological site itself is, as a recent writer said, "a ruin of a ruin,"[citation needed] because the site has been frequently excavated, and because Schliemann's archaeological methods were very destructive:[citation needed] in his conviction that the city of Priam would be found in the earliest layers, he demolished many interesting structures from later eras, including all of the house walls from Troy II.[citation needed] For many years, the site was also unguarded and was thoroughly looted.

ASSOS :

Though officially named Behramkale (pronounced [behˈramkale]), most people still call the town by its ancient name of Assos. The town is on the Biga Peninsula, although the peninsula is known by its ancient name, Troad. The town itself is on the Adramyttian Gulf (Turkish: Edremit Körfezi).

It is possible to see much of the surrounding area from the top of a Trachyte Crag. From this temple, it was possible to see Lesbos in the south, Pergamum in the southeast, and Mount Ida of Phrygia in the east. To the north, the Tuzla River flows. To the northwest, there is the gate to the city of two massive Hellenic columns that still exist today.

Assos had a harbor, which was the only good harbor on the 80 kilometres (50 miles) of the north coast of the Adramyttian Gulf. This made Assos a key shipping station through the Troad.

The city was founded from 900-1000 BC by Aeolian colonists from Lesbos, who specifically are said to have come from Methymna. The settlers built a Doric Temple to Athena on top of the crag in 530 BC.From this temple Hermias of Atarneus, a student of Plato, ruled Assos, the Troad and Lesbos for a period of time, under which the city experienced its greatest prosperity. (Strangely, Hermias was actually the slave of the ruler of Atarneus.Under his rule, he encouraged philosophers to move to the city. As part of this, in 348 BC Aristotle came here and married King Hermeias's niece, Pythia, before leaving to Lesbos three years later in 345 BC. This 'golden period' of Assos ended several years later when the Persians arrived, and subsequently tortured Hermias to death.

The Persians were driven out by Alexander the Great in 334 BC. Between 241 and 133 BC, the city was ruled by the Kings of Pergamon. However, in 133 BC, the Pergamons lost control of the city as it was absorbed by the Roman empire.

St. Paul also visited the city during his third missionary journey through Asia Minor, which was between 53-57 AD, on his way to Lesbos. From this period onwards, Assos shrunk to a small village, as it has remained ever since. Ruins around Assos continue to be excavated.

The pillars from the ancient port lay in the harbor for over a millennia. Eventually they were probably sold.

In the early 1900s an attempt was made to move the contents of the Temple of Athena. Much of the art has been moved to museums like the Louvre. The art found includes pictures both of mythical creatures and heraldic events.

Kaz Dağı stretches from East to West along the north coast of the Gulf of Edremit at the northern extremity of the Aegean. The myth-makers called it Mount Ida, the mountain of the Mother Goddess, Cybele, and made it the site of repeated seductions of men by women. Among its slopes and valleys, they insisted, Paris, suckled by a she-bear, went on to make his famous and fateful judgement. And upon its summit, the Gods gathered to watch - and decide - the resulting battle of Troy.

Today, the crystalline and volcanic mass bears the more prosaic name of Kaz Dağı (or Dağları), meaning Goose Mountain (or Mountains). Its 1,774-metre summit - Karataş, the highest of a series of peaks - continues to soar above archetypal firs and a uniquely-preserved flora. But the sibyls and soothsayers have gone, and only a more homely 'Sarıkız' legend – still female and fatal – is narrated. The region has become a magnet for mountaineers, hikers and other friends of the outdoors. Visitors can also trace the origins of more recent, rural civilisations.

Forest haunts

Within and without the Kazdağı National Park, almost every path can be explored – all the way towards Assos, en route for Troy, in the West. However, many canyons, cliffs and other zones require special equipment or experience. Accordingly, honorary eco-tourism guides are there to accompany everyone, and permission from the Akçay National Park Engineering Centre near the coast is essential.

Do not let that put you off. Each of the established walks is defined by settlements and landmarks with names as charming as themselves. The villages of Çamlıbel (Pine Ridge), Pınarbaşı (Spring-side), Beyoba (Pince's camp) and Mehmetalan - all are to be encountered along a single horizontal route which combines the freshness of nature with a glimpse of traditional lifestyles.

The town of Güre retains the feel of yester-year, adorned with architectural features proper to the Anatolian Greeks as well as the Turks. Its neighbourhoods, Yassıçalı and Kavurmacılar, are little more than peaceful villages. Following the Kızılkeçili Stream brings the visitor to the Sütüven Waterfall, 17m high and a designated picnic area. Just 500m away are the rocks of Hasanboğuldu ("Hasan drowned").

Village museum

The steep and level tracks, asphalted lanes and gardens of Zeytinli afford the walker a constant permutation of surface and vista. In the Village of the Wooden Birds (Tahtakuşlar Köyü), just a few kilometres from Akçay, stands Turkey's first private ethnographical museum and first village art gallery (www.tahtakuslar.8m.com or www.etnografya-galerisi.com Tel.0266 387 33 40). Opened by retired teacher Alibey Kundar in 1991, the small two-storey building displays artefacts of the nomadic Turkish tribes which migrated from Central Asia, including clothing, household goods, tools, carpets and tents. Also on view seven days a week are more contemporary works of art, embroidery, jewellery, lucky charms and even a giant leatherback sea turtle. The legends of the Kaz mountains are told here and the medicinal plants which grow on them can be purchased along with local handicrafts.

A kilometre to the Southeast is Şarlak, with its commanding view of Çamlibel and the Gulf. Its picnic area and tea garden, containing a pool in the shape of the Sea of Marmara, are an ideal place to gather breath.

The route from Yayla Tepe (Alp Hill) to Ayı Deresi (Bear Valley) is strictly for trekkers but for those forcibly or voluntarily confined to vehicles, there are still many sights to be seen via Avcılar (Hunters) Village, Dereçatı Point, Doyran Village, Mehmetalan Village, Yayla Tepe, Tozlu (Dusty) Point, Türkmen Heights, the peak of Sarıkız (the Blonde or Yellow Girl of a local fable), Tavşanoynağı Tepe (Rabbit Run Hill), Dumanlı (Smoky) Point, Gürlek Fountain and Çamlıbel.

Oxygen cure

Besides the coastal and mountain scenery and the villages tumbling down their slopes, the Kaz mountains are renowned for the high oxygen content of the air. The U-shaped Åžahin Deresi (Hawk Valley) canyon, some 600m in height, 700m in breadth and 27km in length, acts as an effective chimney, casting the pine-scented air of the highlands out over the gulf, and drawing the iodised sea air back up into the mountains. It is an ideal climate for those who suffer from asthma, bronchitis or infections of the respiratory tract.

Beaches and camp-sites can be found nearby, while the thermal waters of Güre - as well as Balikesir's springs - offer another healthy and leisurely option.