GÖNEN

Gönen is a district center in Balıkesir province, located in the south of Marmara region, with a population of around 42,000. It is located between the latitudes 46-06 and 27-38 and has a total area of 1,118 km2. It is surrounded by Manyas district to the east, Bandırma district to the northeast, Biga and Yenice districts to the west, the Marmara Sea and Erdek Gulf to the north, and Balya district to the south. Gönen is 33 meters above sea level. In 2011, 70,000 people lived in the villages of Gönen district, which is located in a valley formed by the Gönen River and its tributaries. Gönen is 145 km from Balıkesir, 150 km from Çanakkale, and 155 km from Bursa. Bandırma, an important center for sea, air, and rail transport, is 45 km away.

The oldest known name of Gönen is Asepsus, which is the name of the river that passes through the town. Later, it was called Artemea, which is derived from Artemis. Artemis is the goddess of the forest in Greek mythology, and is the twin sister of Zeus and Leton. According to mythology, she spent all her time hunting in the forest with the water nymphs.

After the city came under Ottoman control, it took the name Gönen. There are different opinions on the origin of the name Gönen. According to the first theory, Gönen comes from the Luwi word Ka-wana, which means "sheep region" or "sheep country".

According to the second theory, Gönen comes from Germanon, which means "swamp".

Some sources say that Gönen is a Turkish name, and according to the first theory, it means "a drying pond in summer, a small lake, or stagnant water". According to the second theory, it means "moisture, old age, or swamp".

In some sources, the name Gönen also appears as "Yörükan Taife", or community. According to this theory, the Gönen-Gönan-Gönenlü community lived as nomads in the Adana, Maraş, and Vize areas in the 16th century.

In his travelogue, Seyyah Evliya Çelebi mentions that Gönen was the summer resort of Mihaliç, one of the kings of Bursa, and that the city was made up of well-maintained red-tiled buildings. It is known that the kings of Bursa used to come to Gönen in the summer months to spend their vacations and benefit from its therapeutic waters.