ARCHEOLOGY
Throughout antiquity, the Ayvalik islands were referred to as
Hecatonisso. This probably comes from the name of the largest
island Cunda, or Ali Bey Island, then called the Nesos. Obviously
the word suggests kinship with Apollo, first God of the town,
since Hecatos was Apollo's nickname. The islands were occasionally
referred to as the Apollo Islands.
Cunda is not the only town on the islands. Chalkis, Pordoselene
and Kydonia should also be mentioned. Although antique sources
rarely refer to Kydonia (Ayvalik), famous geographer Pilinius
who died during the eruption of Vesuvius does say that the place
has a well known thermal spring which flows in summer. Today,
antique findings can be seen in ample quantities around the Cunda
side of the bridge, where ancient Ayvalik is supposed to have
been located. These indicate that the town was alive and thriving
during the Hellenistic period (330-30 BC), the Roman period (30
BC - 395 AD) and the Byzantine era (395-1453 AD).
It is believed that the town reached its prime during the Roman
period but somehow gradually lost its importance in the time of
Byzantium, when the residential area shifted towards the First
Bullet Hill. In fact, from then on, the town grew around this
new centre, while the initial town eventually got buried.
Out of the four original towns, Chalkis and Pordoselene have
concluded their lives, while Kydonia (Ayvalik) and Nesos (Cunda)
continued to live without interruption and they still do.
AFTER THE ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS
The contemporary Ayvalik first began to establish its name during
the early seventeen hundreds. The town's leader at the time was
one Ionnis Dimitrakellis a priest called Ikonomos by the townsfolk,
a born organiser, raised and educated at Aynaroz. He used to have
a large farm on the shore, where the present day city park now
stands. Having befriended Gazi Hasan Pasha of Algiers, a former
admiral and later prime minister of the Ottoman Empire, he managed
to secure a ferman (Sultan's order) giving autonomy to the Christian
Orthodox people of Ayvalik. This autonomy had quite a coverage,
as witnessed by Raffanel, who came to the area before 1821 and
wrote as follows: "The administration of the Ayvalik people
may well be termed a small republic legislating its own laws".
Continuously receiving immigrants from Peloponesia, Trace and
Macedonia, the town kept growing until 1821. An Academy was founded,
the construction of which was completed in 1803. Production levels
of olive oil and soap was then quite high and exports were made
to Russia, to Balkan countries and even to Marseilles. Quite a
number of wheat mills were built with the purpose of grinding
imported wheat. Wine and salt industries were advanced. Ayvalik
was already a metropolis by then. Priest Ikonomos' successors
founded a printing press in 1819 as well.
However the Ayvalik Academy got secretly involved with the Greek
Revolution. During the early days of May 1821, the townsfolk attacked
two small Turkish ships passing by, threw the soldiers into the
sea and set fire to the ships.
The negative attitude of these Greeks, who had so far lived in
such a pleasant site and who enjoyed the best of life and liberty,
infuriated the Ottoman State, who forced them to leave the town.
They did leave...and set the town on fire before leaving.
In 1827 they were allowed to return to their homes but they were
now deprived of their former special privileges. They no longer
enjoyed that rich Ottoman tolerance allowing a peaceful coexistence.
In 1891, Ayvalik was linked with Balikesir, losing its autonomy
and becoming an ordinary town the Ottoman State.
LIFE IN THE NINETEEN HUNDREDS
According to the statistics of Vital Guinet, employed by the Ottoman
Empire to conduct surveys in Anatolia, the population of Ayvalik
had dropped to 21.666 in 1891, and the area had become an operation
ground for smugglers. Smuggling was just another industry along
with olive-oil, vineyards, soap, leather production, agriculture
and manufacture. It was just as widely spread and just as organised.
The reason for newer buildings being closely knit together, allowing
only narrow strips for streets, was mainly to simplify probable
problems of smuggling. The Ottoman State arrested certain important
smugglers in an effort to clean out the area. Pagida, Sideris.
Tiganit and Maimu were among those arrested at the time.
In early nineteen hundreds, Ayvalik was an important name mentioned
during international talks, and housed the consulates of Greece,
Great Britain, Italy, France and Norway. The house which then
bore the plaque of "Union de Paris" (Its address is:
Maresal Çakmak Ave. Street 5, House 6.) still stands.
According to a survey dated 1905, some 700 leather workers were
working In around eighty manufacturing units of various sizes,
including two factories. Unprocessed leather imported from Bombay
of India was worked into shoe soles, in quality comparable to
French specifications, and were re-exported.
ANACHRONISM
Unfortunately the Ayvalik Academy had been an eastward extension
of the Greek Orthodox church which always possessed a chauvinistic
concept of nationalism. This church had constantly been provoked
the hostilities between peoples of various religions and races,
causing the shed of human blood, always the same colour.
Supported by Tsarits Russia and Imperialist Great Britain, the
Greek "Megalo Idea" consisted of recapturing Istanbul
along with the rich lands of western Anatolia, to which end; the
Greek Church constantly pushed the country's politicians. Ayvalik
Academy Printing Press had also been exploited for the same purpose.
Turkish ships had been attacked and sunk; while Greece joined
the efforts of great powers of Europe to wipe out the Ottoman
Empire. with the hope of grabbing the western shoreline for herself.
Meanwhile she used the Greeks of Ayvalik as spies and accomplices.
Immediately upon becoming aware of the situation, the war government
of the Ottoman Empire imposed compulsory emigration onto these
Greeks and moved them into central Anatolia, installing in their
place the Boshnaks.
When Greece occupied the western Anatolia in 1919, they took
Ayvalik as well. However, it was then time for Turks to protect
their land. The attack of Greeks was not in line with the flow
of history. It was this anachronism that caused what they call
"I. Micraciaticky Catastrophe", i.e., "The First
Asia Minor Catastrophe".
IN MODERN TIMES
The occupation lasted until September 15,1922. In accordance with
the Lausanne Treaty signed on July 24, 1923, the ungrateful Ayvalik
Greeks who couldn't appreciate a peaceful existence were forced
to emigrate to Mainland Greece, and in exchange, Turks of Crete,
Lesbos and Macedonia were brought over and settled in Ayvalik,
following which, the town began to prosper again, slowly but surely,
finally free from foreign pressure of secret dark aims.
The script is written by Ahmet Yorulmaz
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