IZMIR
fPURormerly Smyrna, city (1990
pop. 1,762,849), capital of Izmir prov, W Turkey, on the Gulf of Izmir,
an arm of the Aegean Sea. It is Turkey's second largest seaport and an
industrial center with varied manufactures. Settled during the Bronze Age
(c.3000 B.C.), it was colonized (c.1000 B.C.) by Ionians and destroyed
(627 B.C.) by the Lydians. Under Macedon and Rome it prospered. It changed
hands many times from the 7th to 15th cent. A.D., when the Ottoman Turks
conquered it. Greece contested the city after the collapse (1918) of the
OTTOMAN EMPIRE; when the Treaty of Lausanne confirmed it as Turkey's, the
large Greek population was evacuated, making Izmir mostly Turkish. Earthquakes
in 1928 and 1939 caused severe damage to the city.
(VAPOUR TO KARSIYAKA))
