Situated on the beautiful Aegean coast, Edremit is not a typical tourist destination, but even though the city itself seems not to be very interesting, its richness lies in the surrounding villages, neighboring Greek islands, and olive groves.
Despite its centuries-old history, Edremit is a small and not well-maintained modern town that doesn’t encourage tourists to visit it. In the city center, you can find a little ethnographic museum (Ayşe Sıdıka Erke Etnografya Müzesi) and the Leaden Mosque (Kurşunlu Camii) from 1231. However, the nearby airport makes the city a perfect starting point for your trips along the stunning coast of the Edremit Gulf to vacation resorts or ancient ruins, i.e., historical Troad. Particularly interesting, and yet not too far away from the city, is the archeological site linked with great Troy and situated between Mount Ida and Adramyteion Antandros Gulf. Herodotus, Aeneas, and Virgil mentioned this Aeolian colony in the ancient times.
In the 5th century BC, the Greeks settled in the area of Edremit thanks to whom the place is well-known for perfect olive oil till today. Although at present there are almost only Turks living here, the tradition of producing olive oil is still alive, and Greek influence can be found in the architecture or traditional local cuisine. To find out yourself, go to the villages of Yeşilyurt and Adatepe situated in the north-west of the city. They are famous for interesting and well-preserved stone buildings, ancient olive groves, and numerous small presses of fine olive oil. It’s also worth visiting the Museum of Olive Pressing (Edremit Evren Ertür Tarihi Zeytinyağı Aletleri Müzesi), established by the Ertürk family that has been producing olive oil for more than four decades now. It’s located outside the city, on the busy E87 road towards Akçay, and the exhibition includes the equipment used to extract this precious liquid.
