page_title: Balıkesir Province
section_title: Sites of interest
hierarchical_section_title: Balıkesir Province / Tourism / Sites of interest
caption_attribution_description: English: Cyzicus amphitheatre
context_page_description: Balıkesir Province is a province in northwestern Turkey with coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean. Its adjacent provinces are Çanakkale to the west, İzmir to the southwest, Manisa to the south, Kütahya to the southeast, and Bursa to the east. The provincial capital is Balıkesir. Most of the province lies in the Marmara Region except the southern parts of Bigadiç Edremit, Kepsut, İvrindi, Savaştepe and Sındırgı districts and ones of Ayvalık, Burhaniye, Dursunbey, Gömeç and Havran, that bound the Aegean Region. Kaz Dağı, known also as Mount Ida, is located in this province. Balıkesir province is famous for its olives, thermal spas, and clean beaches, making it an important tourist destination. The province also hosts immense deposits of kaolinite and borax, with some open-pit mines. The Kaz mountains are also threatened with the expansion of gold mining using cyanide which puts the villagers' lives, the agricultural economy, and tourism at risk.
  The capital of the Balıkesir Province is Balıkesir City.
context_section_description: Balıkesir is home to a number of natural attractions, including Kuş Cenneti (bird sanctuary) National Park; the bays of Erdek, Bandırma, and Edremit; Ayvalık's coastal beaches; Şeytan Sofrası, Marmara Islands, Alibey (Cunda) Island; the Erdek and Gönen open-air museums; Pamukçu-Bengi, Balya Dağ, Hisar, Hisarköy (Asarköy), Karağaç (Uyuz), Kepekler hot springs, Dutluca Village mineral springs, and Zeytinli Ada hot springs and mineral water springs. 
  Among the cultural attractions of Balıkesir are the ruins of Cyzicus and Saraylar on the Sea of Marmara, Dascylium (near Bandırma/Ereğli), and Antandrus (near Edremit/Altınoluk); Balıkesir's Yıldırım Mosque (Eski Cami), the Zagan Pasha Mosque complex, Clocked Church Mosque and quantity of Ottoman vernacular architecture at Ayvalık, and Alibey Mosque (Çınarlı Cami). The Kuş Cenneti National Park near Lake Manyas is an ornithological site where 266 different species of birds flourish – every year over three million birds fly through there. 13 km southeast of Bandırma in Karacabey, horse farms breed magnificent specimens of this majestic animal.
  There are a city museum and a fine arts centre in Balıkesir. Also, there are several camping facilities in Erdek, Altınoluk, Akçay, Güre, and Ören.
caption: Amphitheatre of Cyzicus
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