Ayvalık (Turkish: [ˈajvaɫɯk]; Greek: Αϊβαλί, Κυδωνίες) is a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkey. It is a district of Balıkesir Province. The town center of Ayvalık is surrounded by the archipelago of Ayvalık Islands, which face the nearby Greek island of Lesbos. It was alternatively called Kydonies (Κυδωνίες) by the town's former Greek population; although the use of the name Ayvalık was widespread for centuries among both the Turks and the Greeks, pronounced as Ayvali (Αϊβαλί) by the latter.