Hotel Billurcu Ayvalik

... nk there and they had got a tv out of the back room and set ıt all up wıth the satılıte and put on the football just for Ian so we sat and watched that wıth them Ian had a Rakı whıch ıs the tradıtıonal turkısh mens drınk ıts terrıble lıke Ouzo and Pastıche and he was so drunk after ıt fallıng over and snorıng wıth the party popper noıces agaın.

... 305;t of land rıght next to the beach. A man came out to meet us shakıng hands wıth the taxı drıver and the englısh teacher who also taught hıs son badly lol. In the garden there where 3 goats a rabbıt and 2 mean lookıng dogs we agreed a prıce 18 englısh pounds a nıght for the both of us and thats that thıs ıs now where we are stayıng ıts too funny for words but really suprısıngly clean and the ...

Why are we leaving gorgeous Ayvalik, our stunning guesthouse and lovely friends to go and see ruins I wonder as Tania harries me off to the bus stop.<br><br>Two hours later and having checked into a hotel where the owner admits "I am Gobi" (yep really) we trek uphill solidly for the next hour and it's 35 degrees plus. Perhaps this should be called schlepping to Asclepion. <br><br>However, the place was genuinely stunning and it ...

After another multi-vehicle trip involving a minibus, ferry, minibus, ferry, bus and finally another minibus we arrived in Ayvalik - a lovely harbour town backed by old Greek stone houses built into the steep hills. <br><br>This time the climb to find a room was worth it as we tracked down a lovely guesthouse right at the top of a narrow alley with fabulous views down to the mosque and waterfront. Many an hour was spent on the roof terrace over the ...

... cost 20 liras but he didnt back down. The other waiters came over and they also said it was the right price. I obviously had no choice but to pay the amount but I really need to start asking for prices of things before I order them. My current strategy (or lack of it) is killing my budget. When I returned to my hostel, I met 4 people in my dorm - a young couple from Italy and 2 young women from France. We talked for about an hour about our trips and then called it a night. Dino Vagabond

... painful, piercing sound. And the mother and friend were doing little to quell it. She was even bouncing the kid such that in some moments he was looking, and shrieking, right into my face! I pulled the window curtain across the back of her seat, but to no real muffling effect. (Nor was the kid very attractive, either). When I got off the bus in Dursunbey my eardrums were palpably dulled and numb. But my omni-present tinnitus was in high excitement. I have written before ...

... any tourist site. The tour company contracts with the expert local guides to lead our group at the different sites we visit. I am so sick of Turkish computer keyboards. The letters are in all the wrong places. The "i" is to the right of the "þ" so I'm always having to backspace to correct it so some strange character doesn't show up in i's place. Likewise, the comma, apostrophe, period and other characters are rearranged. Ugh. Sorry I digressed. The ruins at ...

... the market for the rest of the afternoon...periodically you can hear the chanting coming out of the mosque's speakers...I guess it's prayer time but I don't see anyone actually stopping their activity...there are Turkish flags flying everywhere...and it's a pretty flag...a white moon and star on a red background...it hangs in every store, on houses, from one side of the street to the other. Turkish pride...nationalism...?? It starts to lightly rain ...

... All the buildings are in ruins of course - partly due to time, partly because later generations used the place as a bit of a building material resource (the Home Depot of its time...) and a good bit because during the centuries when metal was scarce and/or hugely expensive, local people mined the buildings for the metal that held the gigantic stone and marble blocks together - and co-incidentally, helped to keep them upright when the frequent earthquakes struck! So by the end of ...

... up the hill. It is a positive maze. Much of it serviced by horses and carts. These are sometimes selling goods or transporting to and from the market. The renovated stands next to the tumbledown, the empty next to the occupied. Many houses are empty and a good portion for sale. They almost made me wish that I was good at DIY ...but I fought of the feeling. The houses were built by the Greeks and taken over by Turkish peoples during the population exchange ...