the city centre. Railway transport is done between Ankara-Balıkesir and İzmir-Balikesir at specific hours. The railway station is located at Republica Square. Balıkesir is joined to Bursa and İzmir by a quality motorway. Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport is located in Edremit district, 87 km from city center, serves as an international airport. There is also Balıkesir Airport located in city center, but currently no flights are operated from the airport. In Balıkesir there are ten hotels with one five-star hotel. Climate Balıkesir has a fairly continental hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) under the Köppen climate classification and a temperate oceanic climate (Do) under the Trewartha classification. Winters are cool and wet with frequent frosts and occasional snowfall, while summers are hot and dry. The continentality increases as one moves from west to east and north to south. Therefore, winters are colder and snowier in the inland parts. Politics According to official documents, the first head of Balıkesir Municipality is Deratam Efendi. However, in the book entitled "Balıkesir City and Municipal History" written by Kerim Kâni Akpınarlı, it is stated that there were four other municipal heads before Deratam Efendi. Balıkesir Municipality, in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey, with the law numbered 6360, published on 6 December 2012, Balıkesir Municipality has qualified as a"Metropolitan". International relations Twin towns Balıkesir is twinned with; Shymkent, Kazakhstan (since 1995) Kazan, Russia (since 1996) Roxas Ctiy, Philippines (since 1997) Prizren, Kosovo (since 1997) Štip, North Macedonia (since 1999) Lefkada, Greece (since 2000) Schwäbisch Hall, Germany (since 2006) Siirt, Turkey (since 2007) Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea (since 2010) Notable natives Historical figures Firdevsi-i Rumi, Turkish poet and universal scholar Zağanos Pasha – Ottoman military commander Seyit Onbaşı - Ottoman army gunner Kazım Özalp – Military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies Nazmi Solok – Military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies Kurtdereli Mehmet Pehlivan – World-famous oil wrestler Mehmet Çoban – Olympian Greco-Roman wrestler Ömer Seyfettin – Writer Hasan Basri Çantay - Member of 1st parliament of modern Turkey, journalist and poet Vasıf Çınar - Politician and diplomat Bekir Sami Günsav, Military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies Ahmet Nuri Öztekin, Military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies Ziya Güler, Lieutenant general See also Altıeylül Anatolian Tigers Balıkesirspor Karesi Macarlar Notes External links Balıkesir Municipality Web Page Balıkesir Government Web Page Populated places in Balıkesir Province Districts of Balıkesir Province