Mount Ida (Kaz Dağı)
Mount Ida, located north of the Edremit Gulf, is a spectacular area spanning 21,300 hectares, rich in fauna and flora, where the sea and greenery coexist with historical balance. Mount Ida can be reached from four points of the district. These are the forest roads from Zeytinli, Kızılkeçili Village, Güre Village, and Altınoluk.
Kazdağı (Mount Ida) National Park
Location:It is located in the borders of Edremit District of Balıkesir Province, north of the Edremit Gulf.
Transportation to Mount Ida
Milli Park alanına, Balıkesir’den 230 nolu, Çanakkale’den 24 nolu karayolu ile ulaşılmaktadır. Saha, Çanakkale’ye 123 km.,Balıkesir’e 92 km. mesafededir.
National Park is possible via Highway 230 from Balıkesir and Highway 24 from Çanakkale. The region is 123 km from Çanakkale and 92 km from Balıkesir.
History of the Region: Mount Ida hosted various civilizations in prehistoric times, and cities and towns were constructed and demolished at different periods. he known history of it begins around 2000 BC. During the Trojan Wars, several cities were founded, including Thebe, Lyrnessos, Khrysa, Killa, Anderia, Antandros, Adramytteion, Astria, and Gargara. Many of these cities were subsequently destroyed.
In the Iliad, Homer describes Mount Ida as ‘the mother of wild animals with abundant springs’. Mount Ida has numerous springs. Even at an altitude of 1500 meters, there are springs with water available throughout the year. Edremit, Akçay, and Altınoluk have an abundant supply of ice-cold drinking and utility water, which comes from the melting snow water of Mount Ida. When the forest air from Mount Ida combines with the iodized and highly oxygenated air of the sea, the area around Altınoluk Şahinderesi is known as an oxygen tent. It has been identified as one of the top three places in the world in terms of oxygen abundance.
Mount Ida (Kazdağı) is known around the world as the Mountain of mythology and legends. One of the three legends of Mount Ida is the Greek legend (Iliad) and the other two are the two Turkish legends of Sarıkız and the love stories of Hasan and Emine. In Greek mythology, it is the place where the world’s first beauty contest was held as a result of Paris giving the Golden Apple to Aphrodite. This contest, as is well known, led to the famous Trojan Wars.
