Ayvalik is a seaside town in Turkey. It is modestly populated with around 30,000 people but on a typical market day like today every single resident of the town has come out on the streets, or so it seems. Soon after our arrival we check into an old hotel on the water. Our room offers a panoramic view of the sunrise and sunset.
Although our lodging is not the most luxurious in town I feel blessed to have the ocean’s cool breeze kiss my cheeks in the morning as the noisy rattling of boat engines wakes me up. This is a lazy town and therein lies its peace, serenity and beauty – a great break from out usual fast-paced life. The marketplace is abuzz with activity – people are buying and selling as they shout and yell. Food, clothes, and all kinds of household goods are on offer.
It is all so different from shopping at a supermarket. I cannot help but click pictures. I don’t want to interrupt people’s work so I just go on as nonchalantly as possible but I am pleasantly surprised as the locals soon start posing to my camera! I even get free cheese from the cheese seller and an orange from the fruit guy for clicking their picture!
As the evening sets in with a little drizzle we head back to our hotel. Wood burning in a huge furnace right across the lane from our hotel heats our rooms and we fall asleep before we realise. We start the net morning with a sumptuous breakfast – fresh Ayvalikian bread, tasty olives, fresh cheese, butter, homemade cherry jam, tomatoes, cucumbers, and coffee.
We spent 3 nights at this hotel visiting various spots all over the town during the course of our holidays. The beauty of this little town coupled with the simple frankness of the locals will remain etched in my heart forever.
Talking of Turkey, there are some fabulous deals available for this Mediterranean destination at the moment. As we’ve now reached summer 2010, bookings for the next few weeks will be considered as late summer bookings and therefore will be a lot cheaper than they normally would be. In fact, you can save over 50% on brochure prices had you booked earlier. Turkey is a great choice for this holiday season, as the weather is reliably hot and sunny with very little rainfall over June, July, August and September. There are also a large range of different resorts in Turkey too, with Marmaris, Antalya and Bodrum being three of the most popular. Whichever one you choose, you’re sure to have an amazing holiday with a wonderful mix of beaches, rich historical sites and great restaurants.
If you’re looking to save lots of money when booking your holiday, cancellations are another good option. When someone cancels a holiday for whatever reason, the tour operator or airline needs to sell the tickets again quickly to ensure the seats are still taken. As a result, tickets for this cancelled holiday are often sold to new customers again at an extremely reduced price. Just make sure you keep a look out for cancellation holidays on the Sunmaster website. They’re usually available quite close to the departure date but are sold very fast due to their bargain holiday prices.