Tourist information - Izmir
Izmir, formerly Smyrna, is a city as well as seaport in western Turkey, capital of Izmir Province, at the head of the Gulf of Izmir. Izmir is regarded as the main seaports of Turkey and it is served by numerous railroads. It is also a commercial and industrial center; dyes, soaps, and textiles are manufactured and also foods and tobacco are processed. The main exports include carpets, foodstuffs, and minerals. Aegean University (1955) is here.
Founded in the 11th century BC by the Aeolians, a Greek people, the city was seized by the Ionians prior to 688 BC. Later on in the 7th century BC, Smyrna was devastated by the Lydians, a people of Asia Minor. Antigonus I, king of Macedonia, brought back the city in the 4th century BC, and consequently it was fortified and improved by Lysimachus, a general in the service of Alexander the Great. Smyrna was conquered soon after by the Romans and subsequently turned out to be an early center of Christianity, called among the many "seven churches" (see Revelation 1:11). In the 4th century AD the city was made a part of the Byzantine Empire, and from the 11th to the 15th century was alternately dominated by the Byzantines as well as the Turks. In 1402 Smyrna was ravaged by the Mongols under Tamerlane, and after 1424 belonged to the Ottoman Turks. The Greeks claimed Smyrna after World War I (1914-1918), and also by the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres, drawn up in 1920, the administration of the city as well as its Ionian hinterland was assigned to Greece for five years. The Greek occupation was contested by the Turks, who seized Smyrna in 1922. According to the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne throughout 1923, the city was awarded to Turkey.
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