“Garlic Beach”
Market day: Tuesday
Ayvalık on the northern Aegean is a delightful small resort with some particularly laidback boutique pensions and a cluster of fish restaurants. Connected to the picturesque island of Cunda by a causeway, it doesn’t immediately appear to have a beach but if you hop on the dolmuş south to Sarımsaklı you will find a long strip of sand concealed behind a line of high-rise hotels and apartment blocks.
Doesn’t sound particularly appealing? Well, just keep on walking until the development runs out and you’ll probably have the sands to yourself.
And why would a beach be named “Garlicky”?
According to the story there was once a young man with a blonde girlfriend from Küçükköy whose family hid her to stop him from marrying her. In despair the young man roamed the area moaning “Benim burada sarım saklı o nerede? (Where is my blonde girl hidden here?)” In time this became corrupted and the area became known as Sarımsaklı.
A pretty story but probably fanciful. The name, if it actually refers to anything, probably celebrates the the wild garlic (sarımsak) grown locally.
Transport info
Frequent buses run through the centre of Ayvalık to Sarımsaklı (9km). Take care to check the time of the last one back.
The further you walk from the bus stop, the quieter and more inviting the beach.
