Kavacık is a charming village in the Karabağlar district of Izmir... Located at the foot of Çatalca Mountain, at an altitude of 850 meters, Kavacık Village is a hidden paradise for those who want to get away from city life and spend a day in touch with nature, with its grapes and natural beauties...
Water, which is essential for the survival of living things, has been considered a sacred entity since ancient times. Water has also been the reason for existence or extinction of many civilizations in Anatolia. This is why civilizations built near water have a very long lifespan. Water, the source of purity, cleanliness, abundance and energy...
In February 1999, I set out towards Çatalkaya from the dirt road next to the Balçova Dam. With every kilometer I went, Izmir was getting smaller but the view was becoming more perfect. Suddenly I found myself on an asphalt road. There were two military radar facilities on the hills on the right and left. I used to see this region from Izmir but was very curious about it. Now here I was, wondering what to do with two cameras around my neck. When I drove forward, "Kavacık Village is 5 Km." I saw the sign in front of me. It was seven o'clock in the morning when I moved away from the military zone and arrived at Kavacık Village. The villagers from Kavacık were surprised to see me in the early hours of the morning and invited me to the coffee house. A young man named İbrahim Mantar took an interest in me and asked me for what purpose I came here. When I told him that I was taking water and waterfall photos and showed him the waterfall photos I had with me; "What are these, there is a waterfall here, you will be surprised," he said.
İbrahim took me down to the stream where there was a waterfall falling from 10-15 meters. We started walking in the stream, photographing the waterfall, which is a natural wonder. İbrahim explained that the name of the stream was "Maden" and that there was gold in it. He had heard a lot about the struggle of the Bergama villagers, but he stated that the main problem of his village was making a living. Although it was the only village in Konak district, Kavacık had many problems. Explaining the problems of the village one by one, Ibrahim was a young man who would soon go to the military, but his mind was always on his village. Explaining that the students were moved to Limontepe by the district governorship for education, İbrahim said that Kavacık's Razaki grape was not well known and asked me to organize a "Grape Festival".
Towards the summer, we went to the region with two busloads of Atatürkist Thought Association members and examined the gold incident in the Efem Çukuru and Kavacık regions. We explained the damage that cyanide-laced gold exploration would cause to the dams in the region.
On September 25, 1999, we organized the first "Kavacık Grape Festival" as Konak District Governorship, Konak Municipality, Kavacık Mukhtar's Office and Kemalist Thought Association. But the main theme was “No to cyanide gold”.
While the jury from the Directorate of Agriculture was choosing the most beautiful grape, I was in charge of the entire organization with a microphone in my hand. The villagers, who could not sell their products properly that day, were better organized at the next year's festival. But due to disruptions, the festival was left unfinished. But I did not give up and took care of the primary school students of the village and tried to make various contributions to them.
With the contribution of Konak Municipality, the village square was enlarged and Mukhtar Ayhan erected the Atatürk bust I brought to the square. After 3-4 years, Konak Municipality held a grape festival in Kavacık for two consecutive years. Later, the municipality started to organize a festival again in this village, which was transferred to the Karabağlar Municipality, and the festival continued until today.
I was there again and enjoyed what happened. The people of Kavacık, who could not sell their grapes to the guests 10 years ago, were selling their grapes, molasses and house wine to the guests this year. The village was like a fairground and its face had changed a lot. Kavacık grape was now known and consumed primarily in Istanbul.
My aim is; The aim is to introduce Kavacık, which is 25 km away from Izmir from Limontepe and Güzelbahçe, first to Izmir and then to other regions. I knew that the people of Izmir wanted to meet the dishes made with organic products and the grapes of this place.
I shared with you what I could in 10 years, and now I am in Kavacık uninvited. When I visited the Mayor of the time, Muhittin Selvitopu, in his office, he said to me; “While he was saying that he should write the history of the Kavacık Grape Festival, I sat next to him on the day of the festival, but he did not mention me or invite me.
No matter, women who did not enter the festival area when it was first held, were now forming cooperatives and selling the products of their region. They were attending the Izmir Fair, this time men were sitting and women were working, wasn't this a gain?
The roads are narrow, but my wish is to always remain narrow, to keep nature intact, to ensure that no one comes to the event with their car, there is no place to step on the day of the festival. Karabağlar Municipality is providing a bus for the ceremony, let's do the transportation with it.
Without spoiling the beauty and nature of the region, the people of Izmir should visit it every day of the year and contribute to the village. The village you don't go to is not yours. I wish you good health.
October 5, 2026
Ahmet Gurel
ADD General President Chief Advisor
