Izmir: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 30 - 100 Mini Hotel
 Mini Hotel is located in the heart of Izmir, just 200 metres from Kemeraltı Bazaar. Hotel Mini´s front desk is open 24-hours a day, both free … MoreEUR 57 - 205 Met Boutique Hotel
 Met Hotel offers soundproofed bedrooms with satellite TV, just 1 km from the Izmir seafront. The Kulturpark Fairground is only 150 metres away, and on… MoreEUR 50 - 90 Mom Hotel
 Next to Izmir Bus Terminal, with easy connections to Izmir International Airport and the city centre. Features large, stylish rooms with cable TV, fre… MoreEUR 90 - 170 MY Hotel
 This hotel, centrally located near to Ataturk Square and Kültür Alani Park, features a minimalist style, and offers a complimentary breakfast buffet… MoreEUR 19 - 100 Olimpiyat Otel Izmir
 Located in downtown Izmir, Olimpiyat Otel Izmir offers comfortable rooms with air conditioning and cable TV. The historic Basmane-Izmir train station … MoreEUR 43 - 125 Marlight Boutique Hotel
 Located in the heart of Izmir, this boutique hotel offers rooms with LCD TV. It is just 15 km from Izmir´s Adnan Menderes Airport and offers fre… MoreEUR 86 - 1,095 Mövenpick Hotel Izmir
 Mövenpick offers contemporary accommodation looking out onto the Aegean Sea, next to Izmir’s focal Konak Square. It features a panoramic gym and an… MoreEUR 30 - 70 Konak Saray Hotel
 Ottoman mansion in central Izmir, only steps from Şıfalı Lux Hammam and a short walk from the Agora. Features air-conditioned rooms and free parkin… MoreEUR 59 - 200 Kaya Prestige
 This stylish, 4-star hotel is just a 5-minute walk from Izmir International Fairgrounds and the city centre. It offers city views from the rooftop ter… MoreEUR 40 - 80 Konak Saray Hotel -Agora-
 Konak Saray Hotel, only 550 metres away from the Agora in the centre of Izmir, offers rooms with free Wi-Fi. It features an intimate terrace garden wi… MoreEUR 65 - 250 Kordon Otel Alsancak
 Kordon Hotel Alsancak enjoys a central location in downtown Izmir. It is 100 metres from the Kordon beachfront, and is 10 minutes’ walk to the Konak… MoreEUR 95 - 200 Kordon Otel Pasaport
 The Kordon Otel is favourably located within walking distance of the Konak Pier and Kemeraltı Bazaar, moments from the seafront promenade on a major … MoreEUR 70 - 160 Ontur Izmir Otel
 Located in the city centre, Ontur Izmir Otel offers luxury, spacious accommodation, top-class service and a wealth of excellent facilities, including … MoreEUR 40 - 75 Otel Vesta
 Otel Vesta is less than 5 minutes’ walk from the Alsancak Port and the Alsancak Istasyonu Train Station. It offers modern rooms and a bar with live … MoreEUR 104 - 740 Swissôtel Grand Efes Izmir
 Swissôtel Grand Efes Izmir is located in the heart of Izmir, overlooking the Aegean Sea. It offers rooms with LCD TVs, and has a spa with indoor and … MoreEUR 9 - 909 Susuzlu Hotel
 Renovated in 2009 the Susuzlu Otel offers contemporary accommodation in central Izmir, 700 meters from the waterfront. The hotel features free Wi-Fi a… MoreEUR 35 - 100 Tanik Hotel
 Centrally located, Tanik offers modern accommodation a 10-minute walk from Izmir’s waterfront and 300 meters from the International Fair grounds. It… MoreEUR 27 - 80 Vatan Hotel
 Vatan Hotel has a fine location in the city centre, close to the sea and the city´s attractions. It offers good facilities and basic, clean acco… MoreEUR 40 - 80 Vita Park Hotel & Spa
 Located just a 5-minute drive away from Kültürpark, Vita Park Hotel has a hammam, a jacuzzi and a spa offering alternative therapies. All rooms have… MoreEUR 55 - 350 Susuzlu Atlantis Hotel
 Susuzlu Otel offers affordable 4-star accommodation in the heart of Izmir. It is a short walk from Basmane Subway and Izmir International Fair. It off… MoreEUR 60 - 95 SC INN Boutique Hotel
 SC Inn Boutique Hotel offers elegantly decorated rooms with modern amenities including flat screen TVs and free Wi-Fi. Fine dining upstairs with views… MoreEUR 50 - 200 Palm City Hotel
 Palm City Hotel is located in the heart of Izmir next to the International Exhibition Centre. It offers modern, air-conditioned rooms with free Wi-Fi.… MoreEUR 57 - 600 Park Hotel Izmir
 Park Hotel offers a complimentary breakfast serving fresh bread, cakes and gourmet coffee. Located 100 metres from Basmane Metro Station, its rooms ha… MoreEUR 70 - 140 Residence Boutique Hotel
 This hotel features soundproofed rooms with a flat-screen TV. It features a sauna, jacuzzi and an à la carte restaurant serving European dishes. İzm… MoreEUR 60 - 950 Residence Comfort Izmir
 Situated in the heart of Izmir, the Residence Comfort offers modern, self-catering suites. Accommodations feature free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TV’s with … More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Izmir: Guide
For a more detailed approach of the ancient and medieval history of the city, see Smyrna.
İzmir (Greek: Σμύρνη Smýrnē, İstanbul. It is located in the Gulf of İzmir, by the Aegean Sea. It is the capital of İzmir Province|İzmir Provinces of Turkey|Province. The city of İzmir is composed of 9 metropolitan districts. These are Balçova, Bornova, Buca, Çiğli, Gaziemir, Güzelbahçe, Karşıyaka, Konak (Turkey)|Konak and Narlıdere. Each district, and often also the neighborhoods within, possesses distinct features and a particular temperament (for detailed info, see the articles on these districts). The 2000 population of this urban zone was 2,409,000 and the 2005 estimate is 3,500,000.
Etymology
The name of a locality called Ti-smurna is mentioned in some of the Level II tablets from the Amazon called Smirna. The oldest Greek rendering of the city's name we know is the Ionian and Proto-Greek form Smúrnā.
Smyrna is the Romans took this name over as Smyrna which is the name used in English language|English for the pre-Turkish periods. The name İzmir is the Turkish language|Turkish version of the same name.
History
Ancient age
The city is one of the oldest cities of the Roman-early Byzantine Empire|Byzantine periods, while the Level 2 bears traces of early to mid-Chalcolithic, and the Level 3 of Neolithic settlements, with continuity. These two levels would have been inhabited, very roughly, between 6500 to 4000 BCE. With the seashore drawing away in time, the place had been transformed into a cemetery (several graves containing artifacts dating, roughly, from 3000 BCE were foundhttp://www.yesilova.ege.edu.tr).
Possibly in connection with the silt brought by the five torrents that join the sea along the straight coastline of the Gulf of İzmir|gulf's end (clockwise, the Bornova, Laka, Manda, Arap and Meles brooks), the settlement known as Myrrha, and that later formed the core of Old Smyrna was founded more to north, on the Bayraklı hill, in the 3rd millennium BCE. The presence of a vineyard of İzmir's Wine and Beer Factory on this hill called Tepekule prevented the urbanization of the site and facilitated the excavations that started in the 1960s by Ekrem Akurgal.
By 1500 BCE, old Smyrna had fallen under the influence of the Hittites|Central Anatolian Hittite Empire. The Hittites possessed a written language and mentioned several localities in the area in their records.
However, in 1200s BCE, invasions from the Balkans destroyed Troy VII and Hattusas, the capital of the Hittites|Central Anatolian Hittite Empire. Central and Western Anatolia fell back into a Dark Age that lasted till the emergence of the Phrygian civilization in the 8th century BCE.
During the Iron Age the houses were small, one-room buildings. The oldest house that has been unearthed is dated at 925 BCE|925 to 900 BCE. The walls of this well-preserved one-roomed house (2.45 x 4 m) were made of sun-dried bricks and the roof of the house was made of reeds. Around that time, people started to protect the city with thick Defensive wall|ramparts made of sun-dried bricks. From then on Smyrna achieved an identity of city-state. About 1000 lived inside the city walls, with others living in near-by villages, where fields, olive trees, vineyards, and the workshops of potters and stonecutters were located. People generally made their living on agriculture and fishing.
Homer
Homer, referred to as Melesigenes which means "Child of Meles Brook" is said to have been born in Smyrna. Meles Brook is located within the city of İzmir, still carrying the same name. Aristotle recounts: "Kriteis... gives birth to Homer near Meles Brook and dies after. Maion brings this child up and names him as Melesigenes ("Child of Meles") to emphasize the place where he was born." Six other cities claimed that Homer was their countryman. These cities are Salamis, Argos, Athens, Rhodes, Colophon and Chios, but the main belief is that Homer was born in Ionia. Combined with written evidence, it is generally admitted that Smyrna and Chios puts forth the strongest arguments in Homer's claim.
From the 8th century BCE
The term Old Smyrna is generally used to describe the urban settlement of 725-700 BCE
Greek settlement in Old Smyrna is attested by the presence of pottery dating from about 1000 BCE onwards. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the city was first established by the Aeolians, but shortly thereafter seized by the Ionians who developed it into one of the world's largest cultural and commercial centers of that period. According to Herodotus, the seizure of the city from Aeolians by Ionians had occurred in the following manner: Colophonians fleeing internal strife within their Ionian city had taken refuge in Old Smyrna. But soon afterwards, these defectors had taken advantage of an opportunity that had presented itself when native Aeolian Smyrniots had gone outside the city remparts for a festival in honor of Dionysos, and had taken possession of the city. They forced an agreement upon the former inhabitants who saw themselves obliged to take all their movable property in the city and leave. Thanks to this hijacking, Smyrna was added to the twelve Ionian cities that were later to play a brilliant role and share destinies in common in the history of civilization.
The period in which Old Smyrna had reached its peak was between 650 BCE|650-545 BCE. This period was considered to be the most powerful period of the whole Ionian civilization. Under the leadership of the city of Miletus, Ionian colonies were established in Egypt, Syria, the west coasts of Lebanon, the Marmara region, around the Black Sea and in eastern Greece. The colonies competed amongst themselves and were a match for Greece proper in many areas. Smyrna by this point was no longer a small town, but an urban center that took part in the Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean trade.
One of the most important signs of that period is the widespread use of writing beginning with 650 BCE. There are many inscriptions on presentations of the gifts dedicated to the goddess Athena, whose temple dates to 640 BCE|640-580 BCE.
The oldest model of a many-roomed-type house of this period was found in ancient Smyrna. Known to be the oldest house having so many rooms under its roof, this house was built in the second half of 7th century BCE The house has two floors and has five rooms with a courtyard. The houses before this type were composed of megarons standing adjacent to each other. Smyrna was built on the Hippodamus|Hippodamian system in which streets run north-south and east-west and intersect at right angles. The houses all faced to the south.
This city plan, which took the name Hippodamus later in the 5th century BCE, followed a pattern familiar in the Near East. The city plan in the Bayraklı Mound is the earliest example of this type in the Western Hemisphere. The most ancient paved streets of the Ionian civilization have been discovered in ancient Smyrna.
The riches of the city impressed the Lydia|Lydians and attracted them to Smyrna. The Lydia|Lydian army conquered the city in about 610 BCE|610-600 BCE and burned and destroyed parts of the city.
The city began to decline soon after due to the Persian Empire|Persian invasion. The Persian emperor had ordered the towns of the Aegean Sea|Aegean coast to raise against the Lydians while the Persian army was advancing in Anatolia. In order to punish the towns that refused to give him support in his campaign against the Lydians, the Persian emperor attacked Smyrna as well as the other coastal towns after having conquered Sardis, the capital of Lydia. As a result of the Persian attacks, old Smyrna was destroyed in 545 BCE. No urban settlement was to re-emerge in Bayraklı and the period of old Smyrna effectively ended.
Alexander the Great refounded the city in about 300 BCE. Alexander had defeated the Persians in several battles and finally the emperor Darius himself at Issus in 333 BCE. The cities of the region witnessed a great resurgence in their population. During this period, Rhodes and Pergamon reached populations of over 100,000. Ephesus, Antioch and Alexandria reached a population of over 400,000. Old Smyrna, which had been founded on a small hill, was only sufficient for a few thousand people, so the new and larger city had been founded on the slopes of Mount Pagos (Kadifekale) in 300 BCE. The flat-topped hill seemed destined by nature to be the acropolis of an ancient city.
Becoming a ancient Rome|Roman territory in 133 BCE, Smyrna enjoyed a golden period for the second time. Due to the importance that the city achieved, the Roman emperors who came to Anatolia also visited Smyrna. Emperor Hadrian also visited Smyrna in his journey from 121 to 125.
In 178 the city was devastated by an earthquake. Considered to be one of the most severe disasters that the city has faced in its history, the earthquake razed the town to the ground. The destruction was so great that the support of the Empire for re-building was necessary. Emperor Marcus Aurelius brought a great contribution in the rebuilding activities and the city was re-founded again.
Various works of architecture are thought to have been built in the city during the Roman Empire period. The streets were completely paved with stones and paved streets became preponderant in the city.
After the Roman Empire's division into two distinct entities, Smyrna became a territory of the Eastern Roman Empire. It preserved its status as a notable religious center as of the early times of the Byzantine Empire. However, the city did decrease in size greatly during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Age, never returning to Roman levels of prosperity.
Smyrna becomes İzmir
Turkic peoples|Turks first captured Smyrna under the command of Çaka Bey in 1076. He conquered Clazomenae, Phocaea (present-day Foça), Chios, Samos Island|Samos and Kos and used İzmir as a base for his raids against the Byzantine Empire in the Aegean Sea and Hellespont Strait (Dardanelles). After his death, the town and its vicinity was re-conquered by the Byzantines in 1098. Smyrna was then captured by the Knights of Rhodes when Constantinople was conquered by the Crusaders in 1204.
Smyrna was re-captured by Turkic forces in the early 14th century when Turkish sailor Umur Bey, son of the founder of the Anatolian Turkish Beyliks|Beylik of Beylik of Aydın|Aydın, took the city back from the Knights Templar. He first captured the fort of Kadifekale on top the city, still intact today, in 1310, and then the lower castle (St. Peter in European sources, "Okkale" in Turkish) and, as Çaka Bey had done 150 years before, used the city as a base for naval raids. The northern coastline of the Gulf of İzmir|Gulf of Smyrna (Karşıyaka today) was, in the meantime, held by the sons of Beylik of Saruhan|Saruhan, another Beylik based in Manisa|Magnesia). In 1344, taking advantage of a distracted Aydınoglu, the Genoese took back the lower castle. A sixty-year period of uneasy cohabitation between the three powers, the Aydınoglu, the Saruhan and the Genoese, ensued, with the first holding the upper castle of İzmir, the second İzmir's opposite coasts and the third the sea-side castle of St. Peter (Okkale), commanding the little inner bay where the port was formerly situated (this inner bay was filled in the 17th century to constitute the present-day Kemeraltı bazaar area).
Smyrna was first taken by the Ottomans and put a serious check on the fortunes of the Ottoman state for the following decades. Tamerlane gave back most of the Anatolian Turkish Beyliks to their former ruling families, and he came in person to İzmir to lodge the only battle of his career against a non-Muslim power, finally taking back the lower castle of Okkale (St. Peter) from the Genoese, and he destroyed the castle.
In 1425, Murad II re-captured Smyrna for the Ottomans from the last bey of Aydın, İzmiroğlu Cüneyd Bey, in a campaign in which he was assisted by the forces of the Templars. One detail of this siege that is pertinent for our day is that, in exchange for their assistance, the Knights Templar had asked the sultan the permission to re-build the European castle of İzmir (St. Peter, Okkale), but the sultan refused despite their insistence and even momentary tensions between the two forces. He gave the Templars the permission to build the well-known Bodrum (Petrum) Castle of our day instead.
The city became a typical Ottoman sanjak (sub-province) inside the larger Ottoman vilayet (province) of Aydın Province|Aydın. One notable development that took place in end-15th century and early-16th century was the arrival of Jews of Spain from where they were evicted. Along with Constantinople (Istanbul) and Salonica (Selanik), Smyrna was one of their primary destinations of settlement. In 1597, on the ruins of St. Peter Castle, Hisar Mosque, İzmir's oldest important Ottoman landmark was built, the word hisar meaning the fort in Turkish. As stated above, the inner bay was filled through both the work of nature and the preference of men in the 17th century, in place of which Kemeraltı bazaar now bustles with hectic activity. İzmir had three castles historically. A third castle, after Kadifekale (Pagos) and Okkale (St. Peter) castles, was Sancakkale, which remained vital to Smyrna/İzmir's security for centuries. It was (and its remains still are) situated in the present-day İnciraltı quarter between Balçova and Narlıdere districts, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Smyrna, at a key point where the strait allowing entry into the innermost tip of the Gulf is at its narrowest, and due to shallow waters through a large part of this strait, ships have to cruise close to the castle. As Lord Byron's notes on 8 March 1810 during his travels into the region indicate: "Passed the low fort on the right on a tongue of land – immense cannon mouths with marble balls appearing under the fort walls. Obliged to go close to the Castle, on account of shallows on the other side in large bay of Smyrna."
With the privileged trading conditions accorded to foreigners in French Consulate, 1621 for the Britain|British), serving as trade centers for their nations. Each consulate had its own quay and the ships under their flag would anchor there. The long campaign for the conquest of Crete (22 years between 1648-1669) also considerably enhanced Smyrna's position within the Ottoman realm since the city served as port of dispatch and supply for the troops.
In the meantime, a middle class, composed of Greeks and, some time later and to a lesser extent, by Armenians, as well as some among the generally poorer Jews, started to take hold. The attraction the city exercised for merchants and middlemen gradually changed the demographic structure of the city, its culture and its Ottoman character.
The city faced a 1676 plague, the 1688 earthquake and the 1743 fire, but continued to grow. In 1866 the United Kingdom|British-built 130 km railway line to Aydın was opened (the first Ottoman railways|Ottoman Empire line). As of the 18th century and especially of the 19th century, Smyrna had a non-negligible segment of the population was composed of merchants of France|French, England|English, Netherlands|Dutch and Italy|Italian merchants, adding to numerous immigrants coming from other parts of the Ottoman Empire. In the late 19th century the port was threatened by a build-up of silt in the Gulf of Smyrna; an initiative was taken to move the Gediz River bed to its present-day northern course, instead of letting it flow into the Gulf to redirect the silt.
Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the victors had, for a time, intended to carve up large parts of Anatolia under respective zones of influence and offered the western regions of Turkey to Greece with the Treaty of Sèvres. On 15 May 1919 the Greek Army occupied İzmir, but the Greek expedition towards central Anatolia turned into a disaster for both that country and for the local Greek people|Greeks of Turkey.
The Turkish Army retook possession of İzmir on 9 September 1922, effectively ending the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) in the field. Part of the Greek population of the city was forced to seek refuge in the nearby Greek islands together with the departing Greek troops, while the rest was left in the frame of the ensuing 1923 agreement for the Exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey|Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations, which was a part of the Lausanne Treaty.
The war, its events specific to Smyrna, Chrysostomos,Misha Glenny, The Balkans following their recapture of the city on 9 September 1922. The lack of comprehensive and reliable sources from the period, combined with nationalist feelings running high on both sides, and mutual distrust between the conflicting parties, has led to each side accusing each other for decades of committing atrocities during the period.
The city was, once again, gradually rebuilt after the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey|Turkish Republic in 1923. The period after the 1960s and the 1970s saw another blow to the İzmir's tissue —as serious as the Great Fire of Smyrna|1922 fire for many inhabitants— when local administrations tended to neglect İzmir's traditional values and landmarks, with some not always in tune with the central government in Ankara and regularly falling short of subsidies, and also with huge immigration waves from the Anatolian inland causing a population explosion and modifying its human capital. Many Smyrniots —in line with native citizens of such other prominent Turkish cities as Istanbul, Bursa, Turkey|Bursa, Manisa, Adana and Mersin— look back to their cosier and more manageable city, that came to an end in the last few decades, with nostalgia. Floor Ownership Law of 1965 (Kat Mülkiyeti Kanunu), allowing and encouraging arrangements between house or land proprietors and building contractors, in which each would share the benefits in rent of 8-floor apartment blocks built in the place of the former single house, proved especially disastrous for the urban landscape.
İzmir is also home to Turkey's second largest Karataş. The most famous figures the Jewish community of İzmir has produced are Sabbatai Zevi and Darío Moreno.
The Levantines of İzmir, who are mostly of Genoese and to a lesser degree of French people|French and Venice|Venetian descent, live mainly in the districts of Bornova and Buca. One of the most prominent present-day figures of the community is Koç family|Caroline Giraud Koç, wife of industrialist Mustafa Koç. Koç Holding is one of the largest family-owned industrial conglomerates in the world.
Modern İzmir
Today, İzmir is Turkey's third largest city and is nicknamed "Occidental İzmir" or "The Pearl of the Aegean Sea|Aegean". It is widely regarded as one of the most Liberalism|liberal Turkish cities in terms of values, ideology, lifestyle, dynamism and gender roles. It is a stronghold of the political party Republican People's Party (Turkey)|CHP.
The city hosts an international arts festival during June/July, and İzmir International Fair in the beginning of September every year.
Modern İzmir also incorporates ancient cities like Ephesus, Pergamon, and Sardis.
There is one modern rapid transit line running Southwest to Northeast.
Image:Konak Pier.jpg|Konak Pier was designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1890
Image:Pasaport Wharf and the Port of Izmir.gif|Pasaport Wharf (1876) and the Port of İzmir
Image:Mimar Kemalettin Square in Izmir.jpg|Mimar Kemalettin Square
Image:Port of Izmir at night.jpg|New Year celebrations at the Port of Izmir
Image:Cumhuriyet Square at night.jpg|New Year celebrations at Cumhuriyet Square
Image:Pedestrian bridge leading to Konak Pier.jpg|Pedestrian bridge leading to Konak Pier
Image:View from a pedestrian bridge.jpg|View from the pedestrian bridge leading to Konak Pier
Image:ForumBornova.jpg|Forum Bornova Shopping Center
Image:Fountain in old Izmir.jpg|A fountain in the old neighbourhoods of İzmir
Image:Old streets of Izmir.jpg|Historic districts
Image:Downtown Izmir.jpg|Business districts
Image:Izmir subway train.jpg|İzmir subway
Image:Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport New Terminal.jpg|The new International Terminal of Adnan Menderes Airport
Image:Izmir_Universiade_2005_Opening_Ceremony.jpg|Opening ceremony of Universiade|Universiade 2005 in İzmir Atatürk Stadium
Main sights
Ancient landmarks
:For more detailed information on the remnants of the ancient city, see Smyrna
The oldest civil work of Architecture of Ancient Greece|Greek architecture in ancient Smyrna is the stone fountain, built in the first half of the 7th century BCE.
Standing on Mount Yamanlar (Dağı), which is disputably a part of the legendary vaults made with corbel technique. This monumental work is thought to be the tomb of the Basileus or Tyrant who ruled ancient Smyrna in 580 BCE|580-520 BCE.
The Agora of Smyrna is well preserved, and is arranged into the Agora Open Air Museum of Izmir, although important parts buried under modern buildings are still to be brought to daylight. Serious consideration has also been given to excavating the ancient theatre, distinguishable till the 19th century as evidenced by its sketchings done by a Prussia|Prussian consul of the period, which is buried in our day under an urban zone on the slopes of Kadifekale (Mount Pagos). On top of this hill which the ancient castle soars, one of the landmarks of İzmir. The theatre of Smyrna was where St. Polycarp had been martyred.
There are nine synagogues in İzmir, concentrated either in the traditional Jewish quarter of Karataş or in Havra Sokak (Synagogue street) in Kemeraltı, and they all bear the signature of the 19th century when they were built or re-constructed in depth on the basis of former buildings.
Birds Paradise
İzmir Birds Paradise is in Çiğli, İzmir|Çiğli, located 15 km west of Karşıyaka, has 205 species of birds. There are 63 species of domestic birds, 54 species of summer migratory birds, 43 species of winter migratory birds, 30 species of transit birds. 56 species of birds have been breeding in the Park. İzmir Bird's Paradise which covers 80 square kilometres was registered as "The protected area for water birds and for their breeding" by Ministry of Forestry in 1982.
İzmir International Fair
The İzmir International Fair (IEF), the oldest member from Turkey of the is held in Kültürpark, covering an area of 421,000m2 in the heart of the city. Aside from this main event, organized in the beginning of September each year, there are up to forty notable fairs and expositions events held around the year in different areas of activity. These fairs have made a great contributions to İzmir's social and cultural life with its vast ground, open-air theatres, Painting and Sculpture Museum, art centers, amusement park, zoo and parachute tower.
Climate
İzmir is characterized by long, hot summers and mild, rainy winters. The total precipitation for İzmir averages 706 mm (27.8 inches) per year; however, 77% of that falls during November through March.
The average maximum temperatures during the winter months vary between 12 and 14°C. Although it's rare, snow has been recorded in İzmir in January and February. The summer months—June through September—bring average daytime temperatures of 28°C or higher.
Cuisine of İzmir
İzmir's cuisine has largely been affected by its multicultural history, hence the large variety of food originating from the Aegean Sea|Aegean, Mediterranean and Anatolian regions. Another factor is the large area of land surrounding the region which grows a rich selection of vegetables. Some of the common dishes found here are, tarhana soup (made from dried yoghurt and tomatoes), İzmir köfte, keşkek (boiled wheat with meat), zerde (sweetened rice with saffron) and mücver (made from aubergines and eggs).
Historically, as a result of the influx of Greek refugees from İzmir (as well as from other parts of Asia Minor and Istanbul) to mainland Greece after 1922, the cuisine of İzmir has had an enormous impact on Greek cuisine, exporting many sophisticated spice and foods.
Festivals
The İzmir International Festival beginning in mid-June and continuing to mid-July, has been organized since 1987. During the annual festival, many world-class performers-soloists and virtuoso|virtuosi, orchestras, dance companies, rock music|rock and jazz groups including Ray Charles, Paco de Lucia, Joan Baez, Martha Graham Dance Company, Tanita Tikaram, Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra|Leningrad Philarmonic Orchestra, Chris De Burgh, Sting, Moscow State Philarmony Orchestra, Jan Garbarek, Red Army Chorus, Academy of St. Martin in the Field, Kodo, Chick Corea and Origin, New York City Ballet, Nigel Kennedy, Bryan Adams, James Brown (musician)|James Brown, Elton John, Kiri Te Kanawa, Mikhail Barishnikov and Josep Carreras gave recitals and performances at various venues in the city and surrounding areas, including the ancient theatres at Ephesus and Metropolis (an antique Ionian city situated near the town of Torbalı).
The Izmir European Jazz Festival is among the numerous events organized every year by İKSEV (The İzmir Foundation for Culture, Arts and Education) since 1994. The festival aims to bring together masters and lovers of jazz in attempt of generating feelings of love, friendship and peace.
Sports
Notable football (soccer)|football clubs in İzmir are: Altay SK, Altınordu, Göztepe, İzmirspor and Karşıyaka SK.
;International sport events:
İzmir is also home to the fifth U.S. Space Camp in the world, .
Mario Levi, Turkish people|Turkish-Jewish novelist
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Izmir". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
1971 - Mediterranean Games,
7 - 22 August, 2005 - Summer 2005 Summer Universiade|Universiade, the International University Sports Games,
2 - 7 September, 2005 - preliminary games of Eurobasket 2005 Women|European Women's Basketball Championship,
4 - 9 July, 2006 - 2006 European Seniors Fencing Championship|European Seniors Fencing Championship.
14 - 23 July, 2006 - U20 European Basketball Championship for MenEducation
The following universities are located in İzmir:
Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi
Ege Üniversitesi
İzmir University of Economics
İzmir Institute of Technology
Yaşar ÜniversitesiTransportation
Air. The city has an airport with connections to Istanbul and cities abroad.
Bus. A large bus terminal outside of the city has intercity buses to points north (such as Cannakale, Bursa and Istanbul), east (such as Ankara) and south (such as Kusadasi and Bodrum).
Rail. The city has rail service from the downtown to Eskişehir, where connections can be made to Istanbul or Ankara.Media and art mentioning İzmir
The solo piano piece "In Smyrna" by Edward Elgar (1905);
The novel/play Slow Train to Izmir by Mark Angus (date?);
The book "Scotch and Holy Water" by John D. Tumpane (1981);
The movie "You can't win'em all" with Tony Curtis and Charles Bronson (1970);
The novel "Farewell Anatolia" by Dido Sotiriou (1991);
The novel "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides (2002);
The novel "Birds without Wings" by Louis de Bernières (2004);
The novel/tv series "The Witches of Smyrna" by Mara Meimaridi (2005);Famous inhabitants from various periods
alphabetical order
Sezen Aksu - Turkish diva
Ekrem Akurgal - Turkish archaeologist born in Tulkarem, explorer of Old Smyrna, Pitane, Phocaea and Erythrai, Turkey|Erythrai
Pınar Aylin - Turkish singer
Édouard Balladur - Former France|French Prime Minister
Halil Berktay - Turkish historian
Hüsamettin Cindoruk - Turkish politician, former party leader and Turkish Grand National Assembly|Speaker of the Parliament
Necati Cumalı - Turkish novelist born in Florina, raised in nearby Urla
Meltem Cumbul - Actress
Mahir Çağrı, Turkish internet phenomenon
Nehir Erdoğan - Actress
Gül Gölge - TV show host, model and actress
Homer - Greek epic poet, see discussion above
Attila İlhan
Alec Issigonis|Sir Alec Issigonis, Greek-British car designer whose most famous work is the Mini
Manolis Kalomiris, Greek Composer
Adamantios Korais, Greek Scholar and Writer
Darío Moreno - Turkish people|Turkish-Jewish singer who made a remarkable career in France;
James Justinian Morier, British Diplomat, Traveler and Writer
Magali Noël, French actress and singer
Metin Oktay - Footballer
Aristotelis Onassis - Famous Greek tycoon
Alpay Özalan - Footballer
Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Turkish Composer, Musician and Writer
Giorgos Seferis - Greek poet, a Nobel laureate, born in nearby Urla
Quintus Smyrnaeus - Greek epic poet
Yıldız Tilbe - Singer
Dr. Andrew Turnbull 18th century British Consul at Smyrna, founder of New Smyrna Colony, Florida, United States
Bilge Umar, Turkish jurist and writer
Lâtife Uşaklıgil, Wife of Ataturk, founder of Turkey
Sabbatai Zevi - Self-proclaimed messiah and founder of the community of Sabbateans
Famous personalities with connections to İzmir include Greek diva Smyrna figs to the United States and opium to China, and their mansion (Forbes köşkü) stands intact in Buca.Sister Cities
Baku (Azerbaijan), since 1985
Seattle (USA), since 1990
Bremen (city)|Bremen (Germany), since 1993
Bombay (India), since 1997
Constanţa (Romania)
Famagusta|Gazimağusa (Turkish Republic of North Cyprus), since 1994
Tel Aviv (Israel), since 1996
Samarkand (Uzbekistan), since 1994
Long Beach, California|Long Beach (USA), since 2004
Naples (Italy), since 1990See also
The nine metropolitan districts of İzmir; namely, Balçova, Bornova, Buca, Çiğli, Gaziemir, Güzelbahçe, Karşıyaka, Konak (Turkey)|Konak and Narlıdere.
Alsancak; the business and luxury quarter in Konak (Turkey)|Konak
Levantine mansions of İzmir; 19th century Levantines|Levantine houses in Bornova, Buca and Karşıyaka
Karataş, İzmir|Karataş; the traditional Jewish people|Jewish quarter in Konak (Turkey)|Konak
Smyrna; the ancient city
Great Fire of Smyrna
İzmir International Fair
İzmir Economic Congress
Boyoz; a pastry very typical of İzmirReferences
"İzmir and the Aegean Region", a brochure prepared by Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Tourism, 2002, İstanbul.
Aegean Turkey: An archaeological guide (George E. Bean)
Izmir and the Levantine world (1550-1650) (Daniel Goffman, University of Washington Press, 2000, ISBN 029-59-6932-6)
Footnotes
External links