Edremit, where thermal, mountain and sea tourism are experienced together, has become a district with a population of 150 thousand with the Balıkesir province it is affiliated to becoming a metropolitan city. In our district, where transportation is possible by land, sea and air, the fact that international scheduled international flights are also carried out from Koca Seyit Airport has expanded our vision as a district and opened our doors to the world. Our Edremit-Altınoluk coastal region, with its wide bays, beaches and blue flagged sea, hosts tourists from all over the world during the summer season. Kazdağları, which is a perfect travel option for history and nature enthusiasts, is a paradise where mountain tourism is experienced with different activities throughout the year. Edremit is also very rich in terms of geothermal resources and has very healing hot spring waters. Our district is at the forefront with its thermal tourism in every season of the year with its quality thermal hotel and timeshare facilities consisting of modern units.

We would like you to visit Edremit, the most popular holiday resort of the Northern Aegean with its historical, cultural values, hot springs and natural beauties, and wish you a pleasant and fun holiday in our paradise.

Edremit and its Surroundings in the Prehistoric Age

The oldest settlement traces identified in Edremit Bay and its surroundings date back to 50,000 BC. The most important place that played a role in the enlightenment of the prehistoric culture of our region is the İnönü caves located 8 km southeast of Havran district. The findings unearthed during the excavation work carried out in the Karanlık cave, the largest of the caves located on the southern slopes of Kocaçal Hill, date back to the Paleolithic Age.

Adramytteion

The ancient city of Edremit was established on Ören Tepe and its surroundings in the Karataş area, located on the seashore, two kilometers west of today’s Burhaniye district. In light of the ruins on the ground, it is understood that the area was a settlement surrounded by walls. The description of the famous Roman geographer Strabon in his work “Geographika” as “… and the Eueonos (Havran Stream) river is reached; from this river city, the waterway built by the Adramytteionians is reached” confirms the location of the city.

The foundation of Adramytteion, one of the important cities of the region called Mysia in ancient times, dates back to the 1500s BC, before the Trojan War. According to one view, the first owners of the city were the Pelasgians, one of the native Anatolian peoples. Another view is that the native people of the city were the Lelegians. Adramytteion participated in the Trojan War around 1250 BC, together with the other ancient cities of the gulf, Thebe, Lyrnessos and Pedasos, on the side of the Trojans. At the end of the 7th century BC, during the Lydian period, which dominated almost all of the Western Anatolian cities, the city of Adramytteion was rebuilt. Strabo stated that the reconstruction of the city was undertaken by Adramys, the brother of King Kroisos of Lydia, and that the Delians were settled in the city. In 546 BC, as a result of the heavy defeat of King Kroisos of Lydia in the war with the Persians, Adramytteion, like all Anatolian cities, came under Persian rule for approximately 250 years.

The first written sources about the city of Adramytteion also emerged during this period. The city, whose name is mentioned in the famous work Historia by Herodotus, who is called the “father of history”; was located on the route that the Persian King Xerxes passed through during his expedition to Greece. “… The army had headed from Lydia to the Kaikos River and Mysia; after passing Kaikos, it marched through Atarneos, taking Mount Kane to the left, towards the city of Karene. After this city, it passed the city of Adramytteion and the Pelasgian city of Antandros, and descended to the plains of Thebe. It passed to the lands of Troy, taking Mount Ida to its left.”

During the chaos that broke out between the Greek cities and lasted for about 35 years, Adramytteion, which fought on the side of the Athenians, was punished by the Persian satrap Arsas. Later, immigrants brought from Sardis were settled in the city, where a great massacre took place. After these events, the Delians, who were expelled from their homeland by the Athenians during the same war period, were settled in the city of Adramytteion by the Persian satrap Pharnakes and granted citizenship.

Persian domination ended with the Granicus war in 334 BC, when Alexander the Great defeated the Persians. After Alexander the Great’s sudden death, the city of Adramytteion was annexed first by Lysimakhos, one of Alexander’s commanders, and later by Antiochus; and was annexed to the Kingdom of Pergamum at the end of the 4th century BC.

After the Persians, the city fell into Roman hands and later became a port for the ships of the Karesi Principality. During the Ottoman period, important shipyards for the navy were established here. The people of the region first served as Turkish pirates in the Mediterranean and later served in important roles in the Ottoman navy. Salih Reis, the Beylerbeyi of Tunisia, is one of them.

Geographical Location of Edremit

Edremit is one of the districts of Balıkesir province located in the southern part of the Marmara region. The settlement, established on the coast of the Aegean region between Edremit Gulf and Kaz Mountains, has an area of ​​708 km2. It is located between the latitude circles of 39 degrees 35 and the longitude circles of 27 degrees 01. Edremit, located on the E 87 highway, has an altitude of 16_25 meters above sea level. The district has 15 neighborhoods, 5 towns and 20 villages.

It is surrounded by the Aegean Sea, Ayvacık and Ezine districts to the west, Bayramiç and Yenice districts to the north, Havran district to the east and Burhaniye districts to the south.