Edremit, Balıkesir

Edremit (Ottoman Turkish: ادرمد) 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 with the same name (Gulf of Edremit), with its town center a few kilometers inland, and is an important center of trade, along with the other towns that are situated on the same gulf (namely Ayvalık, Gömeç, Burhaniye and Havran). It is also one of the largest district centers of Balıkesir Province.

The Greek name for Edremit is Adramyttion (Άδραμύττιον) and the Latin name is Adramyttium, mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 27:2), as a city of Asia Minor on the coast of Mysia, which was called Aeolis in classical antiquity. The ship in which Apostle 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. However the ancient city was not Edremit itself ; it is in Ören, Burhaniye.

Edremit's economy relies largely on the production of olives, as well as on tourism. Edremit is known as the capital of olive of Turkey. Kaz Dağı National Park, extending around the ancient Mount Ida (mentioned in Homer's epic poems such as the Iliad), is situated within the boundaries of Edremit district and is an important tourist attraction with its natural scenery and a number of picturesque 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.

Notable people from Edremit

• Hülya Avşar (born in Edremit, father from Ardahan)
• Panos Dukakis (born in Edremit in 1896, father of Michael Dukakis)
• Caner Erkin (born in Edremit)
• Sabahattin Ali (Author-Journalist)

External links

This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.