Çanakkale – İzmir (D550 / E87 Ege kıyı yolu)

From Troy up into the Kaz Dağları, along the northern Aegean

DISTANCE: 330 km
DRIVING TIME: 4 h 30 min

Motorcycle
Car

A northern Aegean line where history and landscape overlap, running from the geography of the Iliad up into the Kaz Dağları.

A corridor of olives, stone villages and sea. Heading south from Çanakkale you pass the cheese country around Ezine and, across the water, the vineyards of Bozcaada; then Behramkale, where the Temple of Athena looks down on the Aegean above a stone-paved ancient harbour; then preserved stone villages such as Adatepe and Yeşilyurt on the skirts of the Kazdağları, the Ida of the Iliad. In Ayvalık and Cunda, Greek-era architecture is braided into the olive-oil industry; the southern end lines up the stone pines of the Kozak plateau, the ancient city of Bergama (Pergamon) and the coast at Foça.

What to eat

Ayvalık tostu
a pressed sandwich of sucuk, cheese, pickles and potato salad in a long crusty roll, griddled flat and cut into fingers — the standard roadside stop of the Aegean coast
Ayvalık, in the Tostçular Çarşısı — the toast-makers’ arcade in the centre, directly opposite the bus station; do it before you leave town
Papalina tavası
papalina is the sprat, a small silver fish; floured, pan-fried and eaten whole with lemon
Ayvalık and Cunda; the season runs July to October and peaks in August
Fırında peynir helvası (makbulü fırından yeni çıkmış sıcak hali)
a baked dessert of fresh cheese, semolina and syrup — warm and stretchy, closer to a pudding than to sesame halva
Çanakkale town centre
Otlu gözleme ve buz gibi karadut suyu
gözleme is a thin hand-rolled flatbread folded over a filling and cooked on a griddle — here filled with wild mountain greens, and washed down with iced black-mulberry juice
The village square at Adatepe and the village of Yeşilyurt (Kazdağları)
Izgara ahtapot, zeytinyağlı enginar ve fava
grilled octopus; artichoke hearts braised in olive oil and served cold; and fava, a purée of split broad beans eaten with lemon and dill
Eski Foça, the old town along the harbour

What to buy

Ezine peyniri
a firm white brined cheese of sheep, goat and cow milk, matured in tins — saltier and denser than everyday beyaz peynir
Ezine town centre and the producers’ shops along the road (Yükseloğulları, Kudret Kahraman and others); registered as an EU geographical indication
Ayvalık sızma zeytinyağı ve zeytinyağlı sabun
cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil from the groves around the town, and the hard green soap made from the same oil
The producers’ own shops in Ayvalık and Cunda
Ayvacık el dokuması kök boyalı halı ve kilim (DOBAG
hand-knotted wool carpets coloured with madder, indigo and other plant dyes by a village women’s cooperative; every carpet carries a certificate naming its weaver
The villages around Ayvacık
Bergama Kozak çam fıstığı ve Bergama tulum peyniri (ikisi de coğrafi işaretli)
pine nuts from the stone pines of the Kozak plateau, and tulum — a crumbly, sharp cheese matured in a goatskin
Bergama and the villages of the Kozak plateau; both are registered geographical indications
Bozcaada şarabı (Kuntra, Karalahna, Vasilaki yerli üzümleri) ve Temmuz-Ağustos’ta Bayramiç Beyazı nektarini
island wine from indigenous grapes — Kuntra and Karalahna for reds, Vasilaki for whites — and, in high summer, the Bayramiç Beyazı: a white-fleshed nectarine grown only in that valley
Along the Çanakkale stretch

Road notes

Between Ayvacık and Küçükkuyu the D550 runs through the Assos and Troya tunnels, which cut a 50-minute mountain road to 5 minutes; when they close for maintenance the traffic goes back over the old Kazdağı ramps, so check the notices before you set off.
The stone-paved road down from Behramkale to the ancient harbour is steep, narrow and full of bends; parking down there is next to impossible and in summer cars are turned away. Leave the vehicle in the upper village and walk down.
The part of the Kazdağları national park facing the Edremit gulf is closed to visitors from 15 June to 30 September because of fire risk; Sütüven-Hasanboğuldu, Pınarbaşı, the Yayla campsite and the glass viewing terrace are exempt.
The best viewpoint stop is the Altar of Zeus above Adatepe, looking across the Edremit gulf to Lesbos and the Ayvalık islands; the village road up from Küçükkuyu is narrow and twisting and the last 800 m are on foot — set off before sunset.
In summer and over public holidays the Ayvalık-Cunda road jams badly; park in Ayvalık (Eski Garaj, Amfitiyatro, Hamdibey) or at the Cunda car park. For Şeytan Sofrası, arrive at least an hour before sunset — the car park fills fast.
Market days: Ayvalık centre on Thursday, Cunda on Saturday, Sarımsaklı on Tuesday, Armutçuk on Sunday. In winter most businesses in Behramkale-Assos close, and the archaeological site shuts at 17:30 between 31 October and 1 April.

Along the way

Truva Antik Kenti
Troy: nine cities stacked on one mound, excavated since 1871 and on the UNESCO World Heritage list; the wooden horse at the gate is a modern replica
Kaz Dağları
the Ida of the Iliad — a forested massif rising to 1,774 m, from which the gods were said to have watched the Trojan War; known today for its springs and its air
Edremit Körfezi
the gulf between the mountains and the sea, holding roughly a tenth of all the olive trees in Türkiye

Itinerary

The route passes through 12 named stops. The line between them is the routed road geometry the map draws — and the distance was measured off that line.

Çanakkale
Ezine
Ayvacık
Küçükkuyu
Altınoluk
Edremit
Burhaniye
Gömeç
Altınova (Ayvalık)
Dikili
Aliağa
İzmir

Directions in Google Maps

This route and Assos (Behramkale) – Küçükkuyu Sahil Yolu

Inside this road lies a shorter section that is worth driving on its own: Assos (Behramkale) – Küçükkuyu Sahil Yolu (28 km, 42 min). The two stand apart on the shelf, because a Sunday afternoon out and a two-day journey are not the same thing.

Sources

8 SOURCES

This record is the counterpart of the route card on İz's Explore screen. The whole shelf, and how it was compiled, is on the route shelf. İz is not open to everyone yet; it lives inside the OtoTasdik vehicle wallet app.