Market day in Ayvalik (and a boat ride, too)

Market day in Ayvalik is the antithesis of the Grand Bazaar - no huckster-like salesmen try to lure tourists into their shops, most likely because tourists don't shop there.  Locals (and Greeks from nearby islands who come here for the lower prices) buy their everyday goods here - clothes, hardware, shoes, towels and linens, produce, eggs, etc.  It's all there, organized more or less by product, and it covers many square blocks of streets and alleys.  When you look at something and decide not to buy it and simply say "thank you," they say "thank you" back and turn to the next customer - no chasing you down the block trying to get you to come back and buy it.

Kinne and Laurie from Washington dwarfed Lynden as they posed near the entrance to the market.

Lynden, Nancy and Kelly shop for jewelry.

Women shopping for textiles.

Tara Hopkins, an American expat from California, runs a shop where women who've never held paying jobs before create bags and other items from  "trash" - materials that are headed for the landfill.  They sanitize the fabrics and materials and then sew the the various designs.

We pose with Tara - Lynden's holding the bag she bought to use as a carry-on for the trip home.

This woman sewed "evil eye" appliques to our bags - we wanted something uniquely Turkish on them.

The name of the company is Cop (M)Adam - a play on words in Turkish which roughly translates to "The Garbage Ladies."

A delivery horse and wagon waits outside a shop.

Bakery where hot breads are being taken directly from the ovens to outdoor racks where they cool only slightly before being purchased.

This vendor sells all kinds of nuts and snacks.

We haven't quite shopped 'til we dropped - we're just heading into the produce area, where they had the most amazing fresh produce - including huge vine-ripened tomatoes the likes of which we're not likely to see in Oregon if the sun doesn't come out soon.

At 1 pm sharp we met at the statue of Ataturk at the harbor and boarded our boat to head out among the islands to spend the afternoon swimming, sunning, and relaxing.

While onboard we celebrated two birthdays - Dick and Vic (Victoria).

The birthday celebration was followed by a rip-roaring game of watermelon polo.