Sadness and joy are intertwined in the history of Ayvalık. It hosts new encounters, new encounters with migrations and leaving. However, despite all Ayvalık special history, as an example of the small lens of Turkey. Changing the culture from the 1920s to today, changing lifestyles, human relationships ... That's why the region of Turkey which, no matter from which everyone finds something from the coast in the city itself.

He is a beach boy with the Agean Breeze, houses made of garlic stone, thyme scented hills, islands and of course fish. While time stands still on Cunda Island, the sunset at Devil's Table is fascinating. Ayvalık, Balıkesir's pier in the Aegean Sea; stories of migration and old songs in one corner, waves and wind in one corner.

In Customs Square, I first gave my back to Ayvalık and watched the serene Aegean standing in front of me and the islands resembling green pebbles frozen while bouncing on the sea. Then I listened to the stories where the sea breeze whispered in my ear. When the Imbat wind turned into the breeze, I was awake with my breath filled with the sharp iodine and pine scents. It was time to explore Ayvalık.

I walked away from the coast and entered the streets that led to the old quarters. As I was passing through one of the cobblestone streets, I came to a bend where there were several coffees facing each other under the wisteria. When I learned that the one on the corner was the Glass Coffee that gave the name to the street I was on, I wanted to rest. Because I heard that the district has very old social spaces. We had a conversation with Şeref Oral, the manager of the coffee, which takes its name from the large windows surrounding it, for thirty-five years.

In the past, the place that the Greeks called "Silver's Coffee" was also known as the place where smugglers gather and spend time. Similarly, another place known and has a story in Ayvalık is Şeytan Halil’s Coffee. The grandchildren of Şeytan Halil, who run the coffee shop on the old Izmir Road. On the walls of the cafe were old photographs, most notably that of Satan Halil. Grandson Karadaş attributed the reason his grandfather was called "the devil" because he was courageous, brave and somewhat mischievous.

"Ayvalık has been mixed with different cultures brought by people from Lesbos, Crete and Greek islands due to its texture. The most fundamental factor that determines the structure here is undoubtedly the exchange. It is intertwined with Greek culture, both with its architecture and its cultural structure. "

The best place to see the region from above and to watch the site throughout is Şeytan Sofrası, located on the hill on the Sarımsaklı road. Like a giant table on steep cliffs. The shape resembling a large footprint surrounded by an iron cage was called "the footprint of the devil"; Besides being a promenade on the hill overlooking the sea and the islands, it is also famous for this rumor. When viewed from the hill, almost all the islands, part of the famous Sarımsaklı Beach and Ayvalık district center can be seen.

The cosmopolitan structure and history of Ayvalık also shaped the neighborhoods in the city. In the middle of the neighborhoods descending from the slope, there are old churches that are now used as mosques. There is Saatli Mosque (Ayos Yannis Church) in İsmet Paşa District, Çınarlı Mosque (Ayos Yorgis Church) in Hamdibey District, and Hayrettin Paşa Mosque (Kato Panaya Church) in Hayrettin Paşa District. In the old districts of the city, most of the mosques except Hamidiye Mosque were converted from churches.

It is possible to encounter an olive oil pool in most of the large houses made of garlic stone on the streets. It was true that Ayvalık meant, in a sense, the land of olives. Olive oils extracted with old lithographs were famous even in the world. There are still many olive factories along the coast, out of the city, which are unused and idle. This year, the Olive Museum, which was opened by the municipality in the Old Foundations Olive Oil Factory, is worth seeing. In the museum, thousands of forgotten documents, bottles, labels, correspondence, photographs, old mechanisms, warehouse notebooks are exhibited in the attic.

Ayvalık is the closest and oldest known tale of the Aegean. When the breeze blowing from Assos, Mount Ida and taking the smell of thyme from the islands, the scattered lands, which the Gods call Hekatonisa, come together. Because all history is separated by an invisible thin sea line. The traces of coming, going and separating have remained stories on the streets. The emptiness of the past is filled with longing stories and the serenity of its unique sea.