Balıkesir: Olive Coasts on Two Seas

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1. What is Balıkesir?
2. How do you get to Balıkesir?
3. Where should you stay in Balıkesir?
4. What type of climate does Balıkesir have?
5. When is the best time to visit Balıkesir?
6. What is the history of Balıkesir?
7. What is Balıkesir famous for?
8. What are the historical places of Balıkesir?
9. What are the best things to do in Balıkesir?
10. What are the best places to visit in Balıkesir?
11. What is the traditional food of Balıkesir?
12. What should you buy in Balıkesir?
13. Frequently asked questions about Balıkesir
14. What do the official records say about Balıkesir?

What is Balıkesir?

Balıkesir is a large province in northwestern Türkiye that runs from the Sea of Marmara in the north to the Aegean in the southwest. Most of it lies in the Marmara Region, but its southern and western districts, including Edremit, Burhaniye and Ayvalık, look out over the Aegean and feel like part of it: olive groves, stone villages and long sandy beaches.

The provincial capital, also called Balıkesir, is an inland market and industrial city on a plain about 170 metres above sea level. Most travellers pass through it rather than stay. The coast is where people go: Ayvalık and Cunda Island for old Greek-built streets and seafood, Akçay, Altınoluk and Ören on the Gulf of Edremit for beaches, and Erdek and Marmara Island on the Marmara side for Istanbul’s summer crowd.

Behind the Gulf of Edremit rises Kaz Dağı, the Mount Ida of Homer, protected as Kazdağı National Park. Further north, on the shore of Lake Manyas (Kuş Gölü), Kuşcenneti National Park is one of Türkiye’s oldest bird sanctuaries.

Places to visit in Balıkesir

Ayvalık

Ayvalık guide: stone houses and olive-oil factories, the Taksiyarhis Church museum, Şeytan…

Cunda Island

Cunda Island (Alibey Adası) off Ayvalık: harbour fish restaurants, Cretan cooking, the…

Kazdağı National Park

Kazdağı National Park on Mount Ida above the Gulf of Edremit: myths,…

Antandros

Antandros at Altınoluk: the Mount Ida shipbuilding city of Herodotus and Virgil’s…

Kuşcenneti National Park

Kuşcenneti National Park on Lake Manyas near Bandırma: 239 bird species, pelicans…

How do you get to Balıkesir?

By air: Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport (EDO), just south of Edremit, is the gateway to the Aegean coast. Turkish Airlines flies from Istanbul Airport; AJet and Pegasus fly from Sabiha Gökçen and Ankara; and in summer Corendon and SunExpress add seasonal flights from several German cities. Ayvalık, Akçay and Altınoluk are all within an hour’s drive of the airport.

By sea: İDO runs fast ferries and car ferries between Istanbul and Bandırma; the provincial culture and tourism directorate gives the crossing as about two and a half hours. From Ayvalık, ferries cross to Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos daily in summer, less often in winter.

By road: The Istanbul–İzmir motorway (O-5), complete since 2019, crosses the province via the Osmangazi Bridge and Bursa, with exits for Susurluk, Balıkesir and the Edremit road. Balıkesir city is 394 km from Istanbul, 173 km from İzmir, 151 km from Bursa and 207 km from Çanakkale. Intercity coaches use the bus station near Ayşebacı, about 6.5 km from the centre, and frequent buses link the coastal towns.

By rail: Balıkesir is on the railway between Bandırma and İzmir and has services towards Ankara. The usual rail-and-sea route from Istanbul is the İDO ferry to Bandırma and then the train south.

Where should you stay in Balıkesir?

For a holiday, base yourself on the coast. Ayvalık has the widest choice, from restored stone houses in the old town to beach hotels at Sarımsaklı, and Cunda has small guesthouses within walking distance of its harbour restaurants. Akçay and Altınoluk on the Gulf of Edremit put you at the foot of Kaz Dağı, and Güre, between them, has thermal hotels. Many visitors to Kaz Dağı stay in village guesthouses in Zeytinli and the foothill villages.

On the Marmara side, Erdek and the Kapıdağ Peninsula are the main resort area and the best base for Kyzikos. Balıkesir city has business hotels and is practical for an overnight stop, and Bandırma suits anyone arriving by ferry or visiting Kuşcenneti.

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What type of climate does Balıkesir have?

The coasts have a Mediterranean climate: hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The Gulf of Edremit is sheltered by Kaz Dağı and stays noticeably mild. Inland, the climate becomes more continental from west to east and north to south, so Balıkesir city and the eastern districts have colder winters with frequent frost and occasional snow. In the city, the 1991–2020 average daily maximum is about 20°C, with roughly 524 mm of rain a year, most of it between November and March.

When is the best time to visit Balıkesir?

June and September are the best months for the coast: the sea is warm, the beaches are open and the crowds are smaller than in July and August, when Ayvalık, Akçay and Erdek fill with Turkish families. May and October are ideal for walking on Kaz Dağı and wandering Ayvalık’s streets. Birdwatchers should time a visit to Kuşcenneti for March to July or September to October. The thermal resorts work all year, and winter is the olive-harvest and olive-pressing season around Edremit and Ayvalık.

What is the history of Balıkesir?

The province covers parts of two ancient regions, Mysia and the Troad, and was settled long before the Greeks arrived. Kyzikos, on the Kapıdağ Peninsula near Erdek, has traces of occupation going back to the Neolithic. According to the provincial culture and tourism directorate, it was founded by the Dolions and named after their king Kyzikos, later became a colony of Miletus, and after the fall of Lydia in 546 BC passed in turn to Persian, Macedonian and Roman control. It was famous for its harbours, temple and theatre, and for wine, olive oil, marble, coins and perfumes.

East of Lake Manyas, on Hisartepe near the village of Ergili, Daskyleion was the seat of the Persian satraps of Hellespontine Phrygia. The directorate describes it as the only excavated Persian satrapal capital in the world. On the Gulf of Edremit, Antandros grew rich on timber from Mount Ida, and Virgil has Aeneas build his fleet there after the fall of Troy.

The city of Balıkesir has Roman roots: a town called Hadrianutherae was founded nearby, reportedly by the emperor Hadrian. In the Byzantine period the site was known as Palaiokastron, “old castle”. At the end of the 13th century the Turkmen Karesi Bey made it the centre of a principality covering Mysia, and in 1345 the Ottomans annexed it. Karesi Bey is buried in the city with five of his sons.

The province played a prominent part in the Turkish War of Independence. After the Greek landing at İzmir on 15 May 1919, local leaders met in Balıkesir the next day and decided on armed resistance, and the first shots against the Greek landing at Ayvalık were fired on 29 May 1919. Turkish forces retook Balıkesir on 6 September 1922. The 1923 population exchange then emptied Ayvalık and Cunda of their Greek Orthodox populations and brought in Muslims from Greece, including Crete and Lesbos, which is why the coastal towns still feel so different from the interior.

What is Balıkesir famous for?

Olive oil. The Gulf of Edremit and Ayvalık are among Türkiye’s main olive-growing areas. Millions of trees cover the hills, and the old stone factories of Ayvalık, built for the 19th-century oil trade, are now on UNESCO’s Tentative List.

Mount Ida. The Kaz Dağları are the Ida of Greek myth, where Paris judged the goddesses and Zeus watched the Trojan War. Today they are known for clean air, springs and walking.

Thermal springs. The 2002 inventory lists more than a dozen hot springs and mineral waters. Gönen’s springs, it notes, were used in Roman and Byzantine times; the water at Güre, near Akçay, rises at 64°C, and the original parts of the bathhouse there show the features of a Roman bath.

Höşmerim and ayran. The inventory singles out höşmerim, a soft cheese dessert, and the ayran of Susurluk as the province’s most famous tastes.

What are the historical places of Balıkesir?

In Balıkesir city

Zağanos Paşa Mosque. Built as a külliye (complex) in 1461 by Zağanos Paşa, one of the viziers and commanders of Mehmed the Conqueror. Only the mosque and its hamam survive, and the present mosque was rebuilt in 1902. It stands opposite the Hasanbaba Bazaar in the city centre.

Yıldırım Mosque. Built in the second half of the 14th century under Sultan Bayezid I (Yıldırım), it is the oldest surviving Ottoman-period building in the city. The inventory notes that it follows a basilica plan and that the door of its minbar and the rectangular panel above it carry Kufic inscriptions.

Karesi Bey Tomb. Behind the Paşa Mosque. Inside are the graves of Karesi Bey, founder of the Karesi principality, and five of his sons. Its rounded, half-moon-shaped front has six windows, and the restoration inscription over the door reads “Kara İsa Bey Türbe-i Şerifesi”, with the date of rebuilding, 1338 (in the Hijri calendar), on a second line. Karesi Bey’s cenotaph is decorated with Kufic script.

Kuva-yi Milliye Museum. Built in 1840 as the mansion of Giridizade Mehmet Paşa, treasurer of the Karesi province, and later used as the town hall. Here, on 16 May 1919, the decision was taken to resist the occupation by force. The ground floor covers the 41 leaders of Balıkesir’s Kuva-yi Milliye (National Forces) and Atatürk’s visits to the city; the upper floor shows archaeological and ethnographic finds from the province. The provincial directorate lists it as closed on Mondays.

Around the province

Kyzikos. The ruins, known locally as Belkıs or Balkız, lie on the neck of the Kapıdağ Peninsula between the gulfs of Erdek and Bandırma, and are under excavation.

Daskyleion. At Ergili, southeast of Lake Manyas. Kurt Bittel identified the site in 1952, Ekrem Akurgal excavated it from 1954 to 1959, and work resumed in 1988. Finds, including Persian-style grave stelae and Phrygian inscriptions, are shown in the Bandırma Archaeology Museum.

Antandros. Ancient city on the slopes of Kaz Dağı at Altınoluk, excavated by Ege University. See our Antandros guide.

Taksiyarhis churches. Ayvalık’s Taksiyarhis Church, built in 1847, was restored by the Ministry and opened as a monument museum in 2013. Cunda has its own Taksiyarhis church, now a Rahmi M. Koç museum.

Windmills of Karakol. In Karakol village near Şamlı, 25 km from the city. Of seven windmills, the inventory records, only two still stand.

What are the best things to do in Balıkesir?

• Walk Ayvalık’s old town, then cross to Cunda for dinner by the harbour.
• Watch sunset from Şeytan Sofrası, the headland south of Ayvalık that looks over the Ayvalık Islands.
• Hike on Kaz Dağı. The national park’s valleys above Güre and Zeytinli, and Şahindere Canyon near Altınoluk, are the classic walks. The inventory lists the park for walking, horse riding, cycling, photo safaris and botany.
• See the birds at Kuşcenneti from the observation tower on Lake Manyas.
• Take a thermal bath. Gönen, Güre and Pamukçu (18 km from Balıkesir) are the best-known springs, with hotels built around them.
• Swim in two seas. The inventory recommends Ayvalık, Cunda, Sarımsaklı, Burhaniye-Ören and Akçay on the Aegean, and Bandırma, Erdek and Marmara Island’s Mermer Plajı on the Marmara.
• Sail the Ayvalık Islands. The inventory notes that the Gulf of Ayvalık is well suited to yachting. The islands are the tops of hills left above water when the Aegean basin sank, and 17,950 hectares of them were set aside as a nature park in 1995.
• Go to a festival. The 2002 inventory lists the Kuşcenneti Culture and Tourism Festival in Bandırma in early June, olive festivals in Burhaniye, Zeytinli and Akçay in August, the Susurluk Ayran Festival and the Gönen Oya (needle-lace) Festival in early September, and the Dursunbey fair with oil wrestling in August. Dates change, so check locally.

What are the best places to visit in Balıkesir?

Ayvalık is an old olive-oil town of stone houses, converted churches and factory chimneys facing an archipelago, with ferries to Lesbos.

Cunda Island (Alibey Adası), the largest of the Ayvalık Islands, is joined to the mainland by a causeway and known for its harbour fish restaurants, Cretan cooking and restored church.

Kazdağı National Park protects the forested southern slopes of Mount Ida above the Gulf of Edremit, with canyons, springs and the endemic Kazdağı fir.

Antandros is the ancient shipbuilding city at Altınoluk where, in Virgil’s telling, Aeneas built his fleet.

Kuşcenneti National Park on Lake Manyas is a wetland reserve where 239 bird species have been recorded, with a museum and a 17.5-metre observation tower.

Also worth your time: Kyzikos and the Kapıdağ Peninsula near Erdek, Daskyleion and the Bandırma Archaeology Museum, Marmara Island and Avşa, and the thermal town of Gönen. Across the provincial border, Assos and Troy are in Çanakkale province and make easy day trips from the Gulf of Edremit.

What is the traditional food of Balıkesir?

The 2002 inventory names two things above all: höşmerim, a sweet made from fresh unsalted cheese, semolina and sugar, and Susurluk ayran, a frothy salted yoghurt drink.

On the Aegean coast the food changes with the population exchange. Ayvalık and Cunda cook with olive oil, wild greens and herbs in the Cretan way, and their harbours are known for fish, octopus and meze. Ayvalık’s own toasted sandwich, the Ayvalık tostu, is a local institution.

What should you buy in Balıkesir?

The inventory recommends höşmerim, the province’s colognes and the Yağcıbedir carpets woven by the Yörük villages of the Sındırgı area. Olive oil and olive-oil soap from Ayvalık and Edremit are the obvious souvenirs from the coast, along with herbs and teas from the Kaz Dağı villages.

Frequently asked questions about Balıkesir

What do the official records say about Balıkesir?

Balıkesir lies in the northwest of Anatolia, most of it in the Marmara Region and the rest in the Aegean Region. It is a province of beautiful shores where clean sea water meets sandy beaches, wrapped in bright green olive groves. Ayvalık, Burhaniye, Ören, Edremit, Akçay, Erdek and Altınoluk are attractive holiday places for those who want to rest in pleasant surroundings and for those interested in historical and archaeological sites.

Towards the end of winter the waters of Kuş Gölü begin to rise and cover the small willow grove and the reed beds on its northwestern shore. In the days when winter turns to spring, migrating birds that spent the cold season in southern countries choose the quiet of Kuşcenneti National Park as a place to build their nests. They lay their eggs and brood them; the young open their eyes here, feed, grow and flourish, and then fly far away, to return the following year. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Balıkesir Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)