Edremit, Balıkesir

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This article is on the Aegean city and the district of Edremit in Balıkesir Province, western Turkey. For the town and the district of Edremit in Van Province, on the shores of Lake Van in eastern Turkey, see Edremit, Van.

Coordinates: 38°58′N, 27°03′E

Edremit, Balıkesir
Location in Turkey
Location in Turkey
Overview
Region Marmara Region, Turkey
Province Balıkesir Province
Coordinates 38°58′ N 27°03′ E
Postal code 10x xx
Licence plate code 10
Website http://www.edremit.bel.tr

Edremit (Greek: Αδραμύτιο) is a district in Balıkesir Province, Turkey, as well as the central city of that district, on the west coast of Turkey, not far from the Greek island Lesbos. It is situated at the tip of the gulf of the same name (Gulf of Edremit), with its center a few kilometers inland, and has central importance, especially as a center for trade, over other cities and towns of the same gulf (Ayvalık, Gömeç, Burhaniye and Havran). It is also one of the biggest district centers of Balıkesir Province.

The Latin name for Edremit is Adramyttium, mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 27:2), as a city of Asia Minor on the coast of Mysia, which in early times was called Æolis. The ship in which Paul embarked at Caesarea belonged to this city (Acts 27:2). He was conveyed in it only to Myra, in Lycia, whence he sailed in an Alexandrian ship to Italy. It was a rare thing for a ship to sail from any port of Judea direct for Italy. In the 19th century, the name Adramyti was used.

Edremit's economy relies largely on the production of olives, as well as on tourism. Kaz Dağı National Park, extending around the ancient Mount Ida, of Homeric glory, is situated within the boundaries of Edremit district and is an important tourist attraction with its natural scenery and a number of pittoresque small villages around it. In ethno-cultural terms, the population of Edremit is a mixture of Balkan Turks, descendants of immigrants from Aegean Islands, some Circassians, as well as native Tahtacı Turkmens, who pursue their own traditions and life-style to this day. A private museum of ethnography in the village of Tahtakuşlar is one of the rare institutions in Turkey focusing on Tahtacı culture. The district of Edremit, especially around Kazdağı, is largely covered with forests.

[edit] Notable people from Edremit

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This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

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