Edremit, formerly Adramyttium (Greek: Ἀδραμύττιον), is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey.[2] Its area is 682 km2,[3] and its population is 167,901 (2022).[1]

Edremit
Altınoluk
Map showing Edremit District in Balıkesir Province
Map showing Edremit District in Balıkesir Province
Edremit is located in Turkey
Edremit
Edremit
Location in Turkey
Edremit is located in Marmara
Edremit
Edremit
Edremit (Marmara)
Coordinates: 39°35′32″N 27°01′12″E / 39.59222°N 27.02000°E / 39.59222; 27.02000
CountryTurkey
ProvinceBalıkesir
Government
 • MayorSelman Hasan Arslan (CHP)
Area
682 km2 (263 sq mi)
Elevation
29 m (95 ft)
Population
 (2022)[1]
167,901
 • Density250/km2 (640/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)
Postal code
10300
Area code0266
Websitewww.edremit.bel.tr

It is situated at the tip of the gulf with the same name (Gulf of Edremit), with its town centre a few kilometres inland, and is an important centre 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 centres of Balıkesir Province. The district of Edremit, especially around Kazdağı, is largely covered with forests. The mayor of Edremit municipality is Selman Hasan Arslan.[4]

History

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The modern city of Edremit is named after the ancient city of Adramyttion (Ἀδραμύττιον) or Adramytteion (Ἀδραμύττειον), a city of Asia Minor on the coast of Aeolis which is in near city Modern Burhaniye

Tahtacı Turkmen, descendants of the army of Shah Ismail I, settled in the mountains near Edremit after their defeat in the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514.[5]

By 1819, Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn recorded that Edremit was only populated by "a few Greek fishermen".[6] In 1912, the town had 6200 inhabitants, 1200 of which were Greeks.[7] At this time, the district had 19 Greek schools and roughly 600 pupils.[8]

In May 1914, thousands of Muslim refugees who had fled from the Balkans arrived in the town of Edremit and proceeded to ransack the shops and homes of the town's Greek community. According to Arnold J. Toynbee, the Ottoman government armed and organised the refugees. Many Greeks found refuge in the town church before fleeing to the harbour where they were then granted passage to the neighbouring island of Lesbos. Turks continued to massacre or evict Greeks in the following months in surrounding villages.[9]

Amidst the Greek Summer Offensive of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, Edremit was seized by the Army of Asia Minor on 19 June 1920 and a Turkish Nationalist counterattack near the town was repelled.[10] It remained under Greek control until their withdrawal in late August 1922, following which all remaining Greeks fled or were killed by the Turkish army.[11]

Composition

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There are 47 neighbourhoods in Edremit District:[12]

  • Akçay
  • Altınkum
  • Altınoluk
  • Arıtaşı
  • Atatürk
  • Avcılar
  • Beyoba
  • Bostancı
  • Çamcı
  • Camivasat
  • Çamlıbel
  • Cennetayağı
  • Çıkrıkçı
  • Cumhuriyet
  • Darsofa
  • Dereli
  • Doyuran
  • Eroğlan
  • Gazicelal
  • Gaziilyas
  • Güre
  • Güre-Cumhuriyet
  • Hacıarslanlar
  • Hacıtuğrul
  • Hamidiye
  • Hekimzade
  • İbrahimce
  • İkizçay
  • İskele
  • Kadıköy
  • Kapıcıbaşı
  • Kavlaklar
  • Kızılkeçili
  • Mehmetalanı
  • Narlı
  • Ortaoba
  • Pınarbaşı
  • Şahindere
  • Sarıkız
  • Soğanyemez
  • Tahtakuşlar
  • Turhanbey
  • Tuzcumurat
  • Yaşyer
  • Yaylaönü
  • Yolören
  • Zeytinli

Climate

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Edremit has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa),[13] with hot, dry summers, and cool, wet winters.

Climate data for Edremit, Balıkesir (1991–2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 12.0
(53.6)
13.1
(55.6)
16.2
(61.2)
20.7
(69.3)
26.2
(79.2)
31.0
(87.8)
33.7
(92.7)
33.8
(92.8)
29.4
(84.9)
23.8
(74.8)
18.2
(64.8)
13.4
(56.1)
22.7
(72.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 7.6
(45.7)
8.4
(47.1)
10.9
(51.6)
14.9
(58.8)
20.2
(68.4)
24.9
(76.8)
27.7
(81.9)
27.7
(81.9)
23.1
(73.6)
18.0
(64.4)
13.0
(55.4)
9.2
(48.6)
17.2
(63.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 4.0
(39.2)
4.6
(40.3)
6.3
(43.3)
9.6
(49.3)
14.3
(57.7)
18.8
(65.8)
21.9
(71.4)
22.3
(72.1)
17.8
(64.0)
13.5
(56.3)
9.0
(48.2)
5.9
(42.6)
12.4
(54.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 95.19
(3.75)
98.15
(3.86)
73.43
(2.89)
60.59
(2.39)
34.88
(1.37)
23.63
(0.93)
5.8
(0.23)
4.7
(0.19)
26.9
(1.06)
70.16
(2.76)
94.57
(3.72)
103.72
(4.08)
691.72
(27.23)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 8.3 7.4 6.7 6.0 4.7 2.9 1.6 1.2 3.0 4.4 7.1 8.6 61.9
Average relative humidity (%) 69.0 66.5 62.8 60.6 55.5 50.2 45.9 47.8 54.2 63.2 68.8 69.9 59.5
Source: NOAA[14]

Economy

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Edremit's economy relies largely on the production of olives, as well as on tourism. Edremit is known as the olive capital 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.

Demographics

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In ethno-cultural terms, the population of Edremit is a mixture of Balkan Turks and Balkan Albanians, descendants of immigrants from Balkans, Aegean Islands, some Circassians, as well as 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.

Notable people

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Twin towns — sister cities

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Edremit is twinned with:

References

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  1. ^ a b "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports" (XLS). TÜİK. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  2. ^ Büyükşehir İlçe Belediyesi, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  3. ^ "İl ve İlçe Yüz ölçümleri". General Directorate of Mapping. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  4. ^ Gazete, Banka (22 November 2021). "Edremit Belediyesi zeytinleri hasat ediliyor". Gazete Banka. p. https://gazetebanka.com/. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  5. ^ Ayliffe (2003), p. 518.
  6. ^ Dearborn (1819), pp. 51–52.
  7. ^ Pétridès (1912), coll. 595-596.
  8. ^ Dieterich (1918), p. 45.
  9. ^ Milton (2009), pp. 48–50.
  10. ^ Kiminas (2009), p. 81; Erickson (2021), p. 63.
  11. ^ Kiminas (2009), p. 81.
  12. ^ Mahalle, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Table 1 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria". Nature: Scientific Data.
  14. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Edremit". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  15. ^ Sister/Twin Cities of Balıkesir Province

Bibliography

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  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainEaston, Matthew George (1897). "Adramyttium". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.