A cultural route in Ayvalık, a coastal town in Balıkesir province in northwestern Türkiye, brings together the town’s industrial heritage, historic architecture, literature and Aegean cuisine at several sites in Ayvalık and Cunda.
The route includes the Ayvalık Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Cunda Taksiyarhis Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Sevim and Necdet Kent Library and Locanda, linking a former factory, a historic church, a library and a restaurant within the town’s cultural landscape.
From factory to museum
The Ayvalık Rahmi M. Koç Museum occupies a historic factory that reflects around 200 years of the town’s industrial past.
Built in the 19th century, the structure reflects the architectural characteristics of Ayvalık’s former factories and consists of two sections that were used as an olive oil mill and soap factory. Built with wooden floor beams set into masonry walls, the factory reached its most productive period in the 1950s before falling out of use in the early 2000s.
