Izmir :  Center of Culture and Civilization

İzmir, historically Smyrna, is the third most populous city of Turkey and the country's largest port after İstanbul. It is located in the Gulf of İzmir, by the Aegean Sea. The city of İzmir is composed of 9 metropolitan districts each with its own distinct features and temperament. The total population is close to 3 million.

 Modern İzmir also incorporates the nearby ancient cities of Ephesus, Troy, Pergamon, Sardis and Klazomenai, and centers of international tourism such as Bodrum, Kuşadası, Çeşme, Mordoğan and Foça.

Turkey's Aegean shores are among the loveliest landscapes in the country. The magnificent coastline, lapped by the clear water of the Aegean Sea, abounds in vast and pristine beaches surrounded by olive groves, rocky crags and pine woods. Dotted with idyllic fishing harbours, popular holiday villages and the remains of ancient civilizations attesting to the inheritance of more than 5,000 years of history, culture and mythology, this region offers a holiday with something for everyone - nature lovers, sun worshippers, photographers, sports enthusiasts, sailors and archaeologists. Along the whole length of the coast, accommodation to suit every taste and price range can be found.

 
İzmir has almost 5000 years of urban past, and possibly that much more of advanced human settlement. It is the coutry’s second largest port accounting for 20% of Turkey's exports. Its workforce, and particularly its rising class of young professionals, concentrated either in the city or in its immediate vicinity (such as in Manisa), and under large companies affirm their name in an increasingly wider global scale and intensity. İzmir is widely regarded as one of the most progressive Turkish cities in terms of values, ideology, lifestyle and dynamism.

Every year the city hosts an international arts festival and the İzmir International Fair, one of the city's many fair and exhibition events. İzmir hosted the World University Games (Universiade) in 2005. With numerous museums, concert halls, sports events and 5 universities, today Izmir is a sophisticated city of culture and arts in addition to being a top holiday destination.

The city’s Adnan Menderes Airport is well served with connections to local and international destinations. Its new international terminal was opened in September 2006 and the airport is set on its way for becoming one of the busiest in Turkey. The city-airport shuttles are assured by buses operated by a private company. Trains remain a comparatively slow alternative, the subway that will reach the airport is under construction, while..

Izmir has an integrated city transportation system that encompasses ferries, trains, a massive bus system and a subway ensures a safe and quick journey to all points in the city. Taxis, numerous and medium priced are also a valid alternative.

İzmir is characterized by long, hot summers and mild, rainy winters. 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 — from May to October — usually brings average daytime temperatures of 30 °C or higher.
 

History

Izmir is one of the oldest settlements of the Mediterranean basin. The 2004 discovery of Yeşilova Höyük and the neighboring höyük of Yassıtepe, situated in the plain of Bornova, reset the starting date of the city's past further back than was previously thought. The findings of the two seasons of excavations carried out in Yeşilova Höyük by a team of archaeologists from İzmir's Ege University indicate three levels, two of which are prehistoric. These two levels would have been inhabited by the indigenous peoples of İzmir, very roughly, between 6500 to 4000 BC. With the seashore drawing away in time, the site was later used as a cemetery.

Homer, referred to as Melesigenes which means "Child of Meles Brook" is said to have been born in Smyrna and written his world renowned saga of the Iliad here. A River Meles, still carrying the same name, is located within the city of İzmir.

Another city in the Aegean region that is both a present day tourist stop and an ancient center of culture is Ephesus. It was an important ancient port city whose remains have come down to the present day in very well-preserved condition. The ancient harbor however in time became silted in, with the result that Ephesus now lies inland from the sea. The Temple of Artemis located in Ephesus was one of the “Seven Wonders” of the ancient world. Banking in the modern sense got its first start in Ephesus. The philosopher Heraclitos was from Ephesus. The apostle St. Paul lived in Ephesus, St. John wrote his gospel here, and many pilgrims come here to visit a house where the Virgin Mary is said to have stayed.

The “House of the Virgin Mary” is in the vicinity of Ephesus, ( 5 km from Ephesus). It is believed by many Christians and Muslims that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to this stone house by Saint John after the crucifixion of Jesus, fleeing the persecution of the Christians in Judea, and lived there until her assumption into Heaven according to Catholics and Orthodox. According to traditional belief, Mary left Jerusalem together with St. John sometime around 40 A.D. and came here where she died. The church dedicated to her name here is the first in the world accepted by the Vatican as a place of pilgrimage for Catholics.

Pope Paul VI visited Virgin Mary’s House in July 26, 1967 and Pope John Paul II also came on November 30, 1979. Finally the current Pope Benedict XVI also visited the site in November 2006 during his official visit to Turkey.

Today the modern city of Bergama contains the ruins of Pergamon. Ancient Pergamon was one of the principal military, political, and cultural centers of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Its library, consisting of two hundred thousand volumes, was the second largest in the world. The largest library was that at Alexandria.

The famous physician Galenus (Galen) was from Pergamon. In fact, Izmir has been a center of health for thousands of years. The thermal springs that healed the war weary soldiers of Agamemnon in Homer’s saga are in Izmir Balcova region. Ancestors of Hippocrates who coined the term ‘hippocratic oath’ are said to have lived in the Aegean region.

Modern day Izmir follows the tradition with 27 state hospitals and medical centers, 2 university hospitals and 17 private hospitals in operation within the city.

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