Cunda and Ayvalik explored

We woke around 7:00 and slept pretty well considering the fact that we did not get home until 12:30. I got Evie three nescafes and I had two, so we felt pretty good despite the time. I wnet down and started writing in my journal about yesterday but then decided it was too nice not to go for a swim Evie had just finished showering but she wanted to go as well, so we went down, and the water was perfect. WE floated around for at least 15 minutes when Sami came out on his pation and waved to us. We went in, got cleaned up and around 10:00, went into town along the beach. The town was busy as it was a Sunday and lots of people were enjoying there breakfast along the promenade. Sami told us about the speciality, Avalik tost, so we sat down and had some with tea. It’s two large pieces of bread, gilled with a cheese that melts nicely, socuk or salami of some kind, tomatoes and II think a tomato sauce or paste of some kind. The key is to use lots of butter and melt it slowly. It was wonderful nd filling, just the perfect breakfast. We then walked all around the town, getting a feel for it, much like a Greek village, narrow, cobblestoned streets but most of the houses were made of stone, had a more Italianate feel than the white washed plaster of a Greek village. The house are really interesting and ornate, much more sophisticated architecturally than a Greek village. We visited an antique shop filled with intersting things, the type Sami might put in his house. He wanted to buy us a huge, tin cooking pot but we talked him out of it so he bought it for himself. We walked some more, visited thechurch right next to his deacpms house and its being reconstruted, the first church to be renovated by the government. Around noon his architect came, and we were able to go into his three story stone villa. Under construction now two years, it should be done by the beginning of the year. It is going to be an unbelievable place, with a large garden, an outer building he is turning into a guest house, and his house, the first floor living quarters for help, a kitchen, and a hamam, the second floor guest bedrooms, a dining room, a bathroom, another bedroom, and the third floor, bedrrom, living room, guest rooms, and bathroom. The views are spectacular, of the church one way, of the tops of buildings and the water the other. The ceilings are 13 feet high except or the first floor, the yard overgrown for now, but he hope to put in a garden. He has kept everything the same, from the built in cupboards in the bedrooms, to the fireplace and stone sinks in the kitchen. He has a terrace in the back balconies in the front and back living rooms, and a side covered area which has two outdoor ovens, which musth ave been ued for bread making. The stone work is amazing, as is the renovation. He brought in steel beams around the roof to ensure the stability of the whole and the mortar work on the outside, the cleaning of the stone around the windowsn and doors is extraordinary. It’s a bit off the main promenade, which is nice, and once done, it will be one of the most pleasing homes on the island.
Later in the afternoon, Sami took us in to Avalik, a Greek town like much of this coast, until the 1920’s exchange with Turkey, which is the major town on the mainland, just off the cause way to Cunda. It’s where Sami’s parents took him when he was young, so he has really good feelings about the waterfront, some restaurants, and a patisserie, which we went to and had his favorite, a Lor cheese dessert. We also took a picture of him in front of it. The waterfront is very busy, an olive oil center, filled with large boats. It’s much busier than Cunda, which only had small gemi boats, about 15 feet long. Here, in Avalik, they are much larger, a larger port. From a brief look, the city does not seem that interesting, but once you begin to walk it, the streets are all narrow, filled with shops and cobble stones and stone buildings, and the waterfront area, is especially cool, filled with alleys, restauratns of all kinds, tea houses, giving it a neat feel. He then took us out of the city, up into the mountain, to a wonderfu spot called the Devil’s Table, which gave you a wonderful view of the various islands and peninsulas, a magnificent place, with tea houses, and views in all directions, out towards the islands, especially Mytilene. It is hard to figure out the geography here, because the peninsulas look like islands, the islands peninuslas. As we drove, I was struck the the various developments, almost everywhere, of cookie cutter condos, much like any other areas in Turkey or the states for that matter. We had tea, talked, and enjoyed the cool breeze before heading back to get clean up for dinner. Sami and I went in to get his large pot, came back and picked up Evie, then headed into the waterfront, filled with people, though not as much. We got a table near the water, at the Deniz restaurants, had a feast of mezze, some much different from the night before, which is interesting. We had pastirma boreks, cheese boreks, rocket salad with tomatoes and green onion, and some just raw, then had two different fish, cut up and served for us by the garcon. We ended it with a treat of lor cheese, some what the consistency of ricotta, mixed with a cherry jam. It was marvelous, a slight cheese taste, a bit sour, combined with the cherries. As usual we ended with a Turkish coffee, the drove home, went to bed after another great day.