Assos & North Aegean Guide: Behramkale, Ayvalık, Cunda

The Temple of Athena is a Doric structure dated to about 530 BC, standing atop the acropolis at 238 metres above sea level. Assos was founded around 1000 BC by Aeolian colonists from Lesbos; of the temple's 34 columns, six stand today, and some reliefs were moved to museums such as the Louvre in the early 1900s. From the summit you see the Gulf of Edremit (Adramyttian) and the Aegean. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

The settlement has two parts: the hilltop village of Behramkale at the foot of the ancient city, and the harbour roughly 2 km downhill. The harbour is known for Ottoman stone warehouses that once stored acorns used for dye. The stone bridge to the north probably dates to the 1360s, and the village mosque to 1365. This was the only good natural harbour along some 80 km of coast, while Kadırga beach stretches to the east. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

The philosopher Aristotle came to Assos in 348 BC, married Pythias, a relative of the ruler Hermias, and gathered a philosophical circle here while making observations in zoology. Alexander the Great drove the Persians from the city in 334 BC. The Stoic thinker Cleanthes was born in Assos, and the Apostle Paul stopped here on his third journey (AD 53-57). Assos lies in ancient Troad, the Biga Peninsula. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

The olive groves surrounding Assos define the landscape, and Ayvalık to the south, in Balıkesir, is the heart of this production. According to sources, the area holds more than 2.5 million olive trees over more than 13,200 hectares, and Ayvalık is Turkey's second largest olive producer. The town lends its name to a distinct olive variety, and its older name is Kydonies. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

Ayvalık keeps the architecture of Kydonies, largely Greek until 1922, in its stone 'Rum houses' and cobbled lanes; the 1923 population exchange reshaped the town. Cunda (Alibey) Island is reached by a bridge over the strait, with the Ayvalık Strait bridge dating to 1964. The island's Taksiyarhis Church now serves as a museum, Şeytan Sofrası is a hilltop viewpoint, and Sarımsaklı is a 7 km sandy beach. The ferry to Lesbos takes about 90 minutes. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)