Information on some things to do when in Assos
The
Assos Festival : Every
year in autumn, and for some years now, there is the meanwhile
famous open air Assos festival, a hurricane of culture from all
over the world sweeping furiously over the village and its
surrounding fields, rocks and sea with modern theatre,
dancing, interpretations of world famous sujets,
plays , stories and acts, combining the antique and natural
favours of Assos to a unique harmony, that nobody, inhabitant,
tourist or actor could have dreamed of before.
Created and directed by Hüseyin Katircioglu, groups from all over the world, from the USA,
Austria , Turkey, Australia and other countries contribute to the
international flair of the performances.
For me and my friends it
was, and always will be, a great and wonderful experience!
Visit the pages of the festival site, see some pictures, info on the actors (Turkish!),
and the 'reportaj'
(Turkish!), the sponsors.
I'm sure the festival
pages will be accessible in
English soon. But even, if you don't read Turkish, you will get
the gist of the atmosphere by watching the pictures provided.
If you happen to be there in autumn, ask at
your pension
or hotel about the exact
dates!
Or fax or email me. I'll inquire for you and send you an email
the same day!
1. Through the
many narrow and steep alleys of the village (I haven't
seen all of them, I think).
2. From
the old mosque to the Athena temple on top
of the hill through the ruins (antique cemetery,
huge city walls
and gates, towers, agora, theatre, which has been partly rebuilt by
now...) down to the harbour or vice
versa. Hueseyin is the 60 year old 'bekçi' (guardian) of the
antique site. He leads tourists around, promises he could do his
tours not only in German, but also in English. It should be true,
as he has been mentioned very favourably in The New York Times -
so try him out!
3. Both
sides of the river
Tuzla (antique Satnioeis) from
the old
Ottoman bridge to the East and West, up from the river valley through the antique and
still used quarries to the Kadirga road.
4. From
the far side of the river valley to the east, to the ruins of the
deserted village of Mentese: a beautiful and quiet place from where most inhabitants moved to Assos some
decades ago, with a breathtaking view over Assos to the island of
Lesbos.
5. From
the harbour along the campsites to Kadirga beach (surfing
paradise!) with some new hotels, and along
the coast to the west.
6. From
the beginning of the road to the harbour to the hill of Ayazma,
through beautiful old paved narrow alleys, shaded from the sun by
overhanging trees and bushes, there to find the remaining ruins
of at least one byzantine basilica (church), a romantic, by now
caved in cattle shed, the front of which is decorated and upheld
by row of antique columns and lintels.
7. Walk
down the cobbled road to the harbour (iskele) and admire the
mosaics of a partly excavated byzantine church, as well as the
marvellous view on the Greek island of Lesbos (just some 12 kms
away!) and the gulf of Edremit.
8. Or
leave the harbour road to take the old narrowly downhill winding
paved path, to follow the camel caravans till 50 years ago,
transporting huge sacks of 'palamut', (special acorns of the
Troad, which were stored in the nowadays hotels at the harbour,
to be shipped to Izmir and from there to North Africa and Spain
for the benefit of their prospering leather factories).
1.
The road west to Gülpinar (Apollo Smintheion temple), on to
Babakale to an old fortress and to the two knife 'factories', as
they were called: everything handmade, interesting to watch. I
think one of them is Hueseyin, one of the 'bicakci's, working
alone and producing 1 knife a day, whereas nearby 3 of them
together make 'only' 2 knives a day (as I was told). Buy a knife
as a souvenir.
2. To
the North: the market in Ayvacik, ruins of Troy, Alexandria
Troy, archaeological museum in
Çanakkale...
3. To
the west: to Bueyuekhusun, on to Sazli and then through a
plane-tree valley through to Ayvacik.
4. Or
Kuecuekkuyu on the western coastal road (market) with the old
Ottoman bath in the old Ida mountains and on to Edremit
(Adramyttion).
5. Nice
picnic sites near Bayramic and on the way to Edremit, a museum 30
kms before Edremit (Etnografia).
More hints:
Try the restaurants and the cafes in the village and also at the harbour. I think the ones in the
village are less expensive.
Enjoy the small cobbled beach next to the harbour, swim over the huge remnants of ancient harbour
ruins, lying just under the surface of the gentle sea.
Let a fisherman take you to the more comfortable 'sand' beach of
Kadirga, where you can also take a luncheon break at one ot the 4
or 5 motels and hotels, e.g. at the Yildiz Saray hotel.
Buy some rugs from Recep or Ibrahim or young Yusuf, or just let
them show you their 'depot'.
Change money into Liras in Ayvacik at the jeweller's at the town
centre (banks are so slow), but not too much at a time
(inflation!). Hotels also accept foreign cash.
Inflation in Turkey is high. . . What's my MONEY worth?
I hope this information can be of some use to you!
© Information: The pictures
I used are only partly those I took myself. A lot of them I found
in the 'Net', and there arises a problem: I remember Serif
Yenen©, Explore Turkey©, Perseus of Tufts University©, Focus©, Atlas©, MAPQUEST©, Discover
Turkey©, Argos©, Turkish Odyssey©,
many thanks to all of them, but I am sure I overlooked some
addresses. So, if anybody can help me there, send me a mail
either to Germany or Turkey.
Thanks also to Prof. Dr. Uemit Serdaroglu, whose publication on Assos greatly helped, and
to Gudrun
Hafner and the Leuckefelds for their pictures.
©
Webmaster ASSOS
