Low tide reveals ancient port in north Aegean town

ÖREN – Demirören News Agency

The remains of a 2,500-year-old ancient port were revealed for the first time in a generation due to a low tide in Turkey’s northern Aegean town of Ören.

“I’ve been hiking up here for many years. I’ve been watching the seaside. It’s the first time I see such a huge low tide,” said local resident Timur Yılmaz, who is a retired military sergeant.

“We can even see the 2,500-year-old Adramyttium port. Therefore, the low tide is quite big,” he added.

Construction foreman Kemal İşi agreed with Yılmaz, saying that he has seen most of the port for the first time.

The sea level decreased about two meters, residents said.

Ören is within the boundaries of Burhaniye district of the northwestern Balıkesir province.

Adramyttium, or Atramyttion, was an ancient city and bishopric in Aeolis, in modern-day Turkey. It was originally located at the head of the Gulf of Adramyttium, on the River Caicus in the Plain of Thebe, 4 kilometers west of what is today Burhaniye, but later moved 13 kilometers northeast to its current location and became known as Balıkesir’s Edremit district center.