Olive trees and the dreamy blue of the Marmara Sea mingle in Mudanya, a small tranquil town bounded by white tipped waves lying at the foot of the green Mudanya Mountains. The sound of the waves can be heard in the narrow cobbled streets, from which there are glimpses of the sea and rowing boats between the two or occasionally three storey houses, some with bay windows. The eaves of the wooden houses are carved, while the masonry houses are painted green, blue and yellow. Houses and inhabitants reflect the maritime climate of Mudanya, where the streets are a focus of social life.

In the mornings chairs are put out on the pavements and neighbour chat over their glasses of strong tea. In the cool of evening everyone emerges onto the pavements again, this time to sit around tiny tables. Outside each front door is a clump of fragrant marvel of Peru. The air of Mudanya is claimed to have a strangely soothing effect, and the friendly, hospitable townsfolk bear this out. Only unsociable behaviour is frowned upon, as we discovered when we were strolling along. A walking stick was suddenly thrust against the wall of a house, and an elderly man demanded to know why we had passed him by without stopping.

When he noticed our glances at the fine wooden carving on the buildings, he explained that they were of Greek construction. Then he went inside to fetch sweets for his visitors. Along the wall of his blue painted house was a row of old tin cans containing a mass of different plants: basil, chilli peppers, tomatoes, various coloured geraniums, fuschias, and carnations, transforming the pavement into a colourful street garden. This was the neighbourhood of Giritli bordering on Mutareke Square. With its old houses lining the road along the seafront, I was reminded of the Bosphorus.

The old part of Mudanya is now an urban conservation area, centering around the main streets of Oniki Eylul, Fevzi Pasa and Mustafa Kemal Pasa, and the side streets leading off them. Scattered amongst the houses shaded by great plane trees are old buildings where once olives were stored and processed for oil. In this area is an 18th century church which now houses the Ugur Mumcu Cultural Centre. Fine old mansions reflect the wealthy past of the town which served as port to the great manufacturing centre of Bursa inland. One of the most impressive of these is Tahir Pasa Konagi, with its magnificent entrance, which is now the town library and museum.

Bickici Islam Aga House, Abdulvahip Efendi House, Halil Aga House and Kenan Dogruoz House date from the 17th century, as does Hasan Bey Mosque with its broad veranda built by Mirliva Hasan Bey of Egypt. Among the many other interesting old buildings in the town is Eski Mosque in the town centre.The old quarter of the town stretches northwest from the quay along the shore, and towards the hillside behind. Apart from its cultural legacy, Mudanya has played a significant role in Turkey’s political history as the place where the Mudanya Armistice was signed by the Turkish government in Ankara and the Allied Powers following the War of Independence.

The Armistice Building where the calm and reasonable Ismet Inonu banged his faced on the negotiating table in frustration is a white painted wooden building facing the sea which was built at the end of the 19th century by a Russian timber merchant. The shore between Mutareke Square and the pier is filled with fish restaurants, kebab houses and tea gardens, and on summer evenings the seafront is full of cheerful crowds strolling and seated at tables. At one end of the seafront is the former railway station, now Hotel Montania.

A railway line was built between Bursa and Mudanya in 1892, but was closed down in 1953. Today the older inhabitants reminisce about the steam trains with regretful nostalgia. The train chugged past peach orchards to Mudanya, and from there headed for Bursa. When it reached Bademli Hill the train used to struggle so slowly up the steep incline that the younger passengers used to jump off the train to pick figs and grapes. The station was built by the French in 1873, and in 1989 the derelict building was restored and turned into a hotel by Fahri Esgin, a businessman from Bursa.

At the time it seemed a crazy idea to invest in a hotel in this quiet, almost forgotten town. Restoration took three and a half years, and the hotel has spearheaded the development of tourism in the town. Guests enjoy not only the swimming pool, rooms with a sea view, and spacious reception rooms, but also the atmosphere echoing with the joys and sorrows of past reunions and separations on the train platforms.he road out of Mudanya to Trilye (Zeytinbagi) and the village of Sigi (Kumyaka) passes through olive groves and fields.

Olive cultivation remains an important part of the local economy. Particularly renowned are the table olives of Trilye, which until the 14th century was a Byzantine town. In 1980 Trilye was declared a conservation area. Its main monument is Fatih Mosque, originally the Byzantine Church of St. Stephen, with its decorated colonnade. The former Greek village of Sigi is the most picturesque village in the area, where the former Greek Church of Takyari at one time housed a mental hospital.

Here the climate is Mediterranean in character, and as well as peaches and figs, oranges and mandarin oranges grow in abundance. Only bananas are conspicuous by their absence. Jasmine clambers over the cottage walls, the delicate white flowers emitting an intoxicating fragrance. One woman offered us some of the tiny hot pickling peppers growing in a pot outside her house, and another invited us to drink tea. After purchasing bottles of the gleaming local olive oil, the colour of the sun melting into the sea, it was time to start our journey back to Istanbul.