The name Balikesir (or Balikesri) is probably a Turkish corruption of the earlier "Paleo Kastro" (Old Fortress). Situated on the Izmir to Bursa road and surrounded by fertile countryside, the town has expanded considerably in the last few decades. In addition to its flourishing trade in local agricultural produce (tobacco, cotton, figs, olive products, etc.) Balikesir has a substantial amount of industry, including textiles, engineering and vehicle manufacture. The countryside around the town is famous for its spas and mineral springs.
The earliest known settlement on this ancient Mysian site was called Assuwa. Falling first to the Hittites, it later came under Lydian, Phrygian, Persian and then Roman control. No relics remain from this period. In 1303 it became the capital of the Karasi beylik, before being taken by the Ottomans in 1363. It kept the name Karasi right up until 1926. As the venue of a congress held to rally nationalist opposition to the Greek invasion of 1919, Balikesir played an important part in the Turkish War of Independence.
On the east side of Bigadiç's town center is a settlement mound, site of the former Byzantine town of Achyraos (remains of defenses). More of the regions numerous medicinal baths are found at Hisar Köyü, a village about 15km/9mi from Bigadiç. Here the hot springs (19.5°C/°67F-84°C/183°F) contain traces of carbon, sulfur, iron and magnesium sulfate, offering relief from rheumatism and skin complaints.
The Karasi Bey (Kara Isa Bey) Türbesi in the Mustafa Fakir area of Balikesir bears the name of Balikesir's founder, who lies buried there together with his five sons. The mausoleum was constructed eight years after his death in 1330. A Kufic inscription adorns the sarcophagus.
Pamukçu, a spa about 18km/11mi south of Balikesir, has sulfur and chlorine springs providing treatment for diabetes as well as rheumatism and chronic intestinal conditions.
The Rococo- and Empire-style clock tower, on a hill in the town center of Balikesir, was erected after an earthquake in 1987. It replaced an earlier one (1877) modeled on the Galata tower in Istanbul.
The village of Emendere (Ilicali), known for its radio-active hot springs, lies about 8km/5mi southeast of the district town of Sindirgi. Another spa, with springs between 84°C/183°F and 96°C/204°F, is found 35km/22mi further east, near the village of Hisaralan Kalesi. This village and the nearby fort (Hisaralan Kalesi) are on a site identified as that of Daskylcion, an ancient Persian settlement.
Balikesir province and immediately adjoining areas are now virtually the only part of Turkey where traditional panayir (fairs) still take place - of great interest from a socio-historical point of view. The fairs include:
Kepsut, Balya, Balya-Ilica, Dursunbey, Bigadiç, Savastepe, and Ivrindi.
The Yildirim Külliyesi in Balikesir comprises a medrese, a bath house and a mosque. The latter, several times restored, was endowed by Yildirim Bayazit at the end of the 14th century.
This mosque near the Kara Isa Bey Türbesi in Balikesir was founded in 1461 by a teacher of the Sultan Fatih Mehmet. In addition to the mosque, the complex consists of a bath house, fountain, mason's yard, a Koranic school with a library in the mosque, and the benefactor's türbe (1466). The pulpit of the mosque is inscribed with the date 865 H, i.e. 1446 (H being the year following the first Hadsh). Atatürk delivered his Friday Address here on February seventh 1923.
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Bigadic, Turkey
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