Izmir Travel Guide, Turkey

Izmir is the city in Turkey with the third highest population and the biggest port of Turkey as well. You can find it by the Aegean Sea in the Gulf of Izmir, and it is Izmir Province's capital. There are nine metropolitan districts in Izmir, and each of them has got it's own temperament and distinct features. As of 2007, the population of the whole city was 2,649,582; and 2,606,294 of that is in urban areas.

Izmir has nearly 3,500 years of urban past, as well as time of advanced settlement. It is the first export port in Turkey, and the free zone is the leader of twenty in the country, which is a joint venture between the United States and Turkey that was founded in 1990. This city is regarded widely as one of the more progressive cities in Turkey in value, gender roles, lifestyle, ideology, and dynamism terms.

Despite the advantage of Izmir's heritage and location, the city has suffered until recently, according to one author, from a "sketchy understanding" of outsiders. When Izmir was taken over by the Ottomans during the 1400s, they didn't inherit any compelling historical memories like Aleppo and Istanbul did, which are two other major trade networks. The emergence of Izmir as a key global port for the 1600s was greatly the result of an attraction that it had to foreigners, as well as the European orientation of the city. Very different types of people have found Izmir to be attractive throughout the years, and it has been governed by those with fresh inspiration and is fast to adopt projects and novelties.

Transportation

The city is served by international and national flights via the Adnan Menderes Airport, and they have a rapid transit line that runs Southwest to Northeast.

Events

There is an international arts festival every June and July, as well as the Izmir International Fair, which is one of the many exhibition and fair events that is held during the start of September each year. The city was the host of the Mediterranean Games during 1971, as well as the host of the World University Games during 2005. They did have a running bid for hosting the Universal Expo of 2015, but Milan won that bid. The modern part of Izmir incorporates the close by ancient cities of Klazomenai, Sardis, Pergamon, and Ephesus, as well as international tourism centers like Foca, Cesme, and Kusadasi.