İzmir, the third most populous city of Turkey and the country's largest port after İstanbul, is located on the Aegean Sea near the Gulf of İzmir. It is the capital of İzmir Province. Its population was 2,409,000 in 2000 and 3,500,000 in 2005.
Name
The oldest name we know for İzmir is the Aeolic Greek Μύῥρα Mýrrha, corresponding to the later Ionian and Attic Σμύρνη Smýrnē, both presumably descendants of a Proto-Greek form *Smúrnā. The Romans took this name over as Smyrna which is the name used in English for the pre-Turkish periods. The name İzmir is the Turkish version of the Greek expression η Σμύρνη "the Smyrna" (Greek uses a definite article for proper names) or perhaps εις Σμύρνη "to Smyrna" (cf. İstanbul), both pronounced [izmírni].
History
The 5000-year-old city that was formerly called Smyrna, is one of the oldest cities of the Mediterranean basin. The original city was established in the third millennium B.C. (at present day Bayraklı, Karşıyaka), at which time it shared with Troy the most advanced culture in Anatolia. By 1500 BC it had fallen under the influence of Central Anatolian Hittite Empire. Greek settlement is attested by the presence of pottery dating from about 1000 BC. According to the famous Greek historian Herodotus (from Halicarnassus, modern-day Bodrum) 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.
The original Myrrha was founded on an island at the northeast of the bay. During the recent centuries, Bornova Plain had been formed with the silt that was brought by torrents of River Meles from Mount Yamanlar (Sipylos) and the peninsula finally transformed into a hill. (A sample vineyard of İzmir Wine and Beer Factory of TEKEL Management is located on this hill called Tepekule.)
Izmir from space, June 1996
Although the first habitation of ancient Smyrna known to be dated from long before 3000 BC, excavations could only go back to 3000 B.C. In the light of the excavations, it is known that the first settlements were founded at the top of the hill at 3-5m high from sea level. This first settlement was dated from Ancient Bronze Age.
Hittites were using the writing (in 1800 to 1200 BC) in Anatolia, which helped to reach the historic ages. However, in 1200s BC, the tribes coming from Balkans demolished Troy VII and Hattusas, the capital of Hittites. With this, a Dark Age during the Iron Age restarted in Middle and West Anatolia. The Iron Age continued until writing was rediscovered in 730 BC in Phrygia and in 650 BC in the rest of the Middle and West Anatolia.
During the Iron Age the houses were huge, small, one roomed buildings. The oldest house that has been finally brought to daylight is dated at 925 to 900 BC The walls of this well-preserved one roomed house (2, 45 x 4 m) were all made of sun-dried bricks and the roof of the house was made of reeds.
People started to protect their hometown with thick ramparts made of sun-dried bricks. From now on Smyrna achieved an identity of city-state. A man called Baseleus was most probably in charge of the city. Migrants and bigwigs constituted the noble class. The population living inside the city walls were approximately a thousand people. The public of city-state was living in near-by villages. The fields, olive trees, vineyards, and the workshops of potters and stonecutters of ancient Smyrna were all located in those villages. People made their living on agriculture and fishing.
Homer
Homer is said to have been born in Smyrna. Seven cities claimed that Homer was their countryman. These cities are Salamis, Argos, Athens, Rhodes, Colophon, Chios and Smyrna, but the main belief is that Homer was born in Ionia; combined with written evidence, Chios and Smyrna claim Homer.
The hymn to the Delian Apollo ends with an address of the poet to his audience. When any stranger comes and asks who is the sweetest singer, they are to answer with one voice, "the blind man that dwells in rocky Chios; his songs deserve the prize for all time to come." Thucydides, who quotes this passage to show the ancient character of the Delian festival, seems to have no doubt of the Homeric authorship of the hymn.
A nickname of Homer was Melesigenes which means "Child of Meles Brook". Meles Brook is located within the territory of Smyrna. 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." Smyrna (Greek Σμύρνη) (now İzmir, Turkey) was settled at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BCE. Throughout Antiquity it was the early leading city-state of Greek Ionia, on the Aegean shores and islands of Asia Minor. Smyrna was among the cities that claimed Homer as a resident. Modern Turkish interpretations emphasize Smyrna's earlier connections with the Hittite empire of central Anatolia.
Smyrna is said to have been a city of the autochthonous Leleges before the Greek colonists settled in the coast of Asia Minor. The name, which Greek myth derived from an eponymous Amazon named Smyrna, was applied also to a quarter of Ephesus, and can also be recognized under the form Myrina, a city of Aeolis. The early Aeolian Greek settlers of Lesbos and Cyme, expanding eastwards, occupied the valley of Smyrna. It was one of the confederacy of Aeolian city-states, marking the Aeolian frontier with the Ionian colonies. Strangers or refugees from the Ionian city of Colophon settled in the city and finally (traditionally in 688 BCE) by an uprising Smyrna passed into their hands and became the thirteenth of the Ionian city-states. Revised mythologies made it a colony of Ephesus (Strabo xiv. 633 BCE; Stephanus Byzantinicus; Pliny, Nat. Hist. v.31) In 688 BCE the Ionian boxer Onomastus of Smyrna won the prize at Olympia, but the coup was probably then a recent event. The Colophonian conquest is mentioned by Mimnermus (before 600 BCE), who counts himself equally of Colophon and of Smyrna. The Aeolic form of the name was retained even in the Attic dialect, and the epithet "Aeolian Smyrna" remained current long after the conquest.
Smyrna's position at the mouth of the small river Hernus at the head of a deep arm of the sea (Smyrnaeus Sinus) that reached far inland and admitted Greek trading ships into the heart of Lydia, placed it on an essential trade route between Anatolia and the Aegean and raised Smyrna during the 7th century BCE to power and splendor. One of the great trade routes which cross Anatolia descends the Hermus valley past Sardis, and then diverging from the valley passes south of Mount Sipylus and crosses a low pass into the little valley where Smyrna lies between the mountains and the sea. Miletus, and later Ephesus, situated at the sea end of the other great trade route across Anatolia, competed for a time successfully with Smyrna, but after both cities' harbors silted up, Smyrna remained without a rival.
The river Meles, which flowed by Smyrna, is famous in literature and was worshipped in the valley. A common and consistent tradition connects Homer with the valley of Smyrna and the banks of the Meles; his figure was one of the stock types on coins of Smyrna, one class of which numismatists call "Homerian"; the epithet Melesigenes was applied to him; the cave where he was wont to compose his poems was shown near the source of the river; his temple, the Homereum, stood on its banks. The steady equable flow of the Meles, alike in summer and winter, and its short course, beginning and ending near the city, are celebrated by Aristides and Himerius. The description applies admirably to the stream which rises from abundant springs east of the city and flows into the southeast extremity of the gulf.
The archaic city ("Old Smyrna") contained a Temple of Athena from the 7th century BCE.
Lydian Smyrna
When the Mermnad kings raised the Lydian power and aggressiveness, Smyrna was one of the first points of attack. Gyges (ca. 687–652) was, however, defeated on the banks of the Hermus, the situation of the battlefield showing that the power of Smyrna extended far to the east. A strong fortress, the ruins of whose ancient and massive walls are still imposing, on a hill in the pass between Smyrna and Nymphi, was probably built by the Smyrnaean Ionians to command the valley of Nymphi. According to Theognis (about 500 BCE), pride destroyed Smyrna. Mimnermus laments the degeneracy of the citizens of his day, who could no longer stem the Lydian advance. Finally, Alyattes III (609–560 BCE) conquered the city and sacked it, and though Smyrna did not cease to exist, the Greek life and political unity were destroyed, and the polis was reorganized on the village system. Smyrna is mentioned in a fragment of Pindar and in an. inscription of 388 BCE, but its greatness was past.
Hellenistic Smyrna
Alexander the Great conceived the idea of restoring the Greek city, in a scheme that was, according to Strabo, actually carried out under Antigonus (316–301 BCE) and Lysimachus, who enlarged and fortified the city (301–281 BCE). The ruined acropolis of the ancient city, the "crown of Smyrna," had been on a steep peak about 1250 ft. high, which overhangs the northeast extremity of the gulf. The later, Hellenistic city was founded on the modern site of Izmir, partly on the slopes of a rounded hill the Greeks called Pagus near the southeast end of the gulf, and partly on the low ground between the hill and the sea. The beauty of the Hellenistic city, clustering on the low ground and rising tier over tier on the hillside, was frequently praised by the ancients and is celebrated on its coins.
Smyrna is shut in on the west by a hill now called Değirmen Tepe, with the ruins of a temple on the summit. The walls of Lysimachus crossed the summit of this hill, and the acropolis occupied the top of Pagus. Between the two the road from Ephesus entered the city by the Ephesian gate, near which was a gymnasium. Closer to the acropolis the outline of the stadium is still visible, and the theatre was situated on the north slopes of Pagus. Smyrna possessed two harbours, the outer, which was simply the open roadstead of the gulf, and the inner, which was a small basin, with a narrow entrance, partially filled up by Timur in 1402.
The streets were broad, well paved and laid out at right angles; many were named after temples: the main street, called the Golden, ran across the city from west to east, beginning probably from the temple of Zeus Akraios on the west slope of Pagus, and running round the lower slopes of Pagus (like a necklace on the statue, to use the favorite terms of Aristides the orator) towards Tepejik outside the city on the E., where probably stood the temple of Cybele, worshipped under the name of Meter Sipylene, (from Mt. Sipylus, which bounds the Smyrna valley), the patroness of the city. The plain towards the sea was too low to be properly drained and hence in rainy weather the streets were deep with mud and water.
After the Roman Empire had been separated, Smyrna became a territory of the East Roman Empire. Smyrna had become a religious center since the early times of Byzantines. However, the city did not display much progress. Although Attila the Hun took the control of the city, this sovereignty could not last long and the city was taken back by the Byzantines.
Smyrna to İzmir
Turks first captured Smyrna under the command of Kutalmışoğlu Süleyman Şah in 1076. Çakabey conquered Klazomenai, Foça, Chios, Samos and İstankoy Islands. After the death of Çakabey, the town and its vicinity was conquered by the Byzantines in 1098. Smyrna was captured by the Knights of Rhodes when Constantinople was conquered by Crusaders.
Smyrna became a Turkish land when the Turkish sailor Umur Bey took the city back from Catholic Knights in 1320. During the period of principalities, some part of the city and its surroundings was taken under the sovereignty of two different Turkish Anatolians Beyliks, namely those of Aydın and of Saruhan. From the time of Turkish settlement, the more modern name İzmir started to take hold.
Murat II occupied İzmir in 1422 and it became an Ottoman territory. After some privileges were given to foreigners in 1620, İzmir became one of the most important trade centers of Ottomans. Consulates of foreign countries increased because of the capitulations given to Europe by the Ottomans. It is known that these consulates dealt with trade. Each consulate had its own quay and their ships were anchoring there. The fire İzmir witnessed after the devastating earthquake happened in 1688, demolished the whole city. However, after the fire and the earthquake the city was rapidly reconstructed. In 18th and 19th centuries, İzmir became popular among the French, English, Dutch and Italian merchants. After the World War I and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, victors have, for a time, intended to carve up large parts of its territory under respective zones of influence and offered the western regions of Turkey to Greece as a bonus under the Treaty of Sevres. On 15 May 1919 the Greek Army occupied the city after but the Greek expedition into Anatolia turned into a disaster both for that country and for the Greeks in Turkey. The Turkish army retook possession of İzmir on the 9 September 1919. The predominantly Greek population of the city were forced to seek refuge to the nearby Greek islands by any means available. On September 13, the city experienced one of the greatest disasters of its history. A fire destroyed more than 20,000 buildings in an area of 2,600,000 m². However, the city was gradually rebuilt after the proclamation of the Turkish Republic in 1923.
Modern İzmir
A Street view from Modern Izmir
Today, İzmir is Turkey's third largest city and is nicknamed "Occidental İzmir" or "The pearl of the Aegean". It is widely regarded as the most liberal Turkish city in terms of values, ideology, lifestyle, and gender roles. It is a stronghold of the political party CHP.
İzmir is also home-town of some famous singers like Sezen Aksu.
The city hosts an international arts festival during June/July, and an international fair during August/September every year.
Modern İzmir also incorporates world-famous ancient cities like Ephesus, Pergamon, and Sardis.
There is one modern subway line running Southwest to Northeast.
Climate
People coming to İzmir can expect 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.
Many people install fans or air conditioners to cool their apartments. Rain is extremely rare in the summer and residents must sometimes undergo water rationing before the rains return in the fall.
İzmir International Fair
The İzmir International Fair (İIF), the only member of the Union of International Fairs in Turkey, was held on an area of 421,000m2. In accordance with the rapid and dramatic developments in Turkish economy, İIF has been organising various national and international specialized fairs for years. İIF also made great contributions to İzmir’s social and cultural life with its fair ground, open-air theatre, Painting and Sculpture Museum, art centers, amusement park, zoo and parachute tower.
Birds Paradise
İzmir Bird's Paradise 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 spices of transit birds. 56 spices 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.
Cuisine of İzmir
İzmir’s cuisine has largely been affected by its multicultural history, hence the large variety of food originating from the 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 meatballs, keskek (boiled wheat with meat) zerde (sweetened rice with saffron) and mucver (made from squash and eggs).
Festivals
The Izmir International Festival beginning in mid-June and continues to mid-July, has been organised since 1987. During the annual festival, many world-class performers-soloists and virtuosi, orchestras, dance companies, rock and jazz groups including Ray Charles, Paco de Lucia, Joan Baez, Martha Graham Dance Company, Tanita Tikaram, Jethro Tull, Leningrad Philarmony Orchestra, Chris De Burg, 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, Elton John, Kiri Te Kanawa, Mikhail Barishnikov and Josè 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 clubs in İzmir are: Altay SK, Göztepe, İzmirspor and Karşıyaka SK.
In 1971, the Mediterranean Games were held in İzmir. In August 2005, it hosted the Summer Universiade, the International University Sports Games.
Education
Following universities are located in İzmir:
Izmir is also home to the fifth Space Camp in the world, Space Camp Turkey.
A Street-Level view from Alsancak District of Izmir
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 "Smyrna 1922 - The Destruction of a City" by Marjorie Housepian Dobkin (date?);
The book "Scotch and Holy Water" by Graham Hancock (date?);
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);
Parts of the series Foundation takes place in a planet called smyrno which obviously is a reference to symrna.
Famous people from İzmir
alphabetical order
External links
Reference
- "İzmir and the Aegean Region", a brochure prepared by Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Tourism, 2002, İstanbul.
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smyrna under GFDL
