Ayvalık

Four migrants were killed and five others were rescued off the coast near the resort town of Ayvalık, after small boat heading to Greece capsized in the Aegean Sea on Nov. 8.

Olives are life for Mediterranean people. All the countries that have shores on the “Sea of Civilizations” consider it sacred. The olive tree is their sustenance; life revolves around it; in a way, all the mighty civilizations owe their existence to the olive. The olive is the fruit of happiness.

Harvard and Koç University’s summer school hosts local and foreign students for Ottoman Turkish classes every year on Turkey’s Cunda Island, off the Aegean coast Since 1997, an institute on Ayvalık’s Cunda Island affiliated with Harvard University has drawn great interest from foreigners and locals who want to learn Ottoman Turkish during the summer.

“Ice is like water; how can I sell ice to you?” said Stavros, the owner of a mistral restaurant in the small port of Molivos.