Welcome to Izmir!

Izmir is a city in southwestern Turkey on the Aegean Sea. It is a coastal city and capital of the metropolitan area and the homonymous province.

Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara, the country's capital.

According to etymological studies on Smyrna, the word Smyrne, in Greek means a spice.

The five thousand year old city is one of the oldest cities in the Mediterranean basin. The original city was established around the 3rd millennium BC, when it shared with Troy the most important culture of Anatolia.

The city was known until the beginning of the 20th century for being one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, with a large population of Greeks and Armenians.

With 2,500 people, the Jewish community of Izmir is the second largest community in Turkey, after Istanbul. After the Turkish War of Independence the Greek population moved to Greece. The current population is predominantly Turkish.

The modern city, with spacious boulevards and buildings constructed since 1924, contains the district of Karşıyaka (formerly Kordelia), once a separate city across the gulf from central Izmir now forms the northwestern extension of the city. Konak district is the commercial center of Izmir; the residential districts of the city are concentrated in Karantina and Güzelyalı to the southwest and in Eşrefpaşa to the north of the bazaar. To the south of the commercial center is Kadifekale (Mount Pagus), on which the ancient citadel of Smyrna was built. Alshanchak to the north is the site of the recently expanded port, while industry is concentrated in the suburbs along the gulf to the northeast.

The markets in Konak are huge, and there are boats connecting the city to Athens, Greece.