City Asia
İzmir
İzmir is a big city in Türkiye, beside a long bay of the Aegean Sea. It is a busy port with tall towers and very old streets.
İzmir, once called Smyrna, is Türkiye's third-biggest city, with 2,948,160 people in the city at the end of 2022. It wraps around the inner end of the Gulf of İzmir on the Aegean coast, and it is the country's second port after Istanbul.
İzmir, ancient Smyrna, was rebuilt in the 4th century BCE on the slopes of Mount Pagos and grew as an Aegean trading port as rival harbors silted up. Today it is Türkiye's third city (2,948,160, end of 2022) and its second port and industrial city.
Photo: BerkeKayalarr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover İzmir
İzmir is a big city in Türkiye. It is beside the Aegean Sea.
Ships come to its port. Long ago it had a different name: Smyrna.
İzmir is a city on the Aegean coast of Türkiye. The Turkish statistics institute's register counted 2,948,160 people in the city at the end of 2022, the third-most in the country after Istanbul and Ankara. The whole İzmir Province had 4,462,056.
Universalis says İzmir, called Smyrna in ancient times, is Türkiye's second port after Istanbul and its second industrial city.
City Population's İzmir province page (Turkish Statistical Institute, register-based estimates) gives the city of İzmir 2,732,219 people in 2009, 2,833,603 in 2013, 2,928,810 in 2017 and 2,948,160 on 31 December 2022, third after Istanbul (15,244,936) and Ankara (5,186,002). İzmir Metropolitan Province had 4,462,056.
Universalis (Xavier de Planhol): the city spreads around the inner gulf for more than 30 km and keeps climbing the terraced slopes of Mount Pagos.
- Country
- Türkiye
- People in the city (estimate, 31 December 2022)
- 2,948,160 (third in Türkiye)
- People in İzmir Province (same date)
- 4,462,056
- Old name
- Smyrna
Towers and a long bay
Look at all the tall towers! Two of them have wavy sides.
Behind the city are big, dark hills. The sea is in the corner.
This photo of İzmir's skyscrapers was taken on 16 February 2021. Two tall towers with wavy sides stand side by side, and many other towers rise above rows of houses and apartment blocks. Dark mountains stretch across the back under gray clouds, and a curving road runs beside the water at the bottom right.
Commons files the photo under buildings in the Bayraklı and Konak districts.
Commons: 'Skyscrapers in Izmir, Turkey', 16 February 2021, by BerkeKayalarr (CC BY-SA 4.0), a crop of the photographer's own 'Gökdelenler bölgesi' ('İzmir Yeni Kent Merkezi', İzmir new city center); categories 'Buildings in Bayraklı', 'Buildings in Konak, İzmir', 'Skyscrapers in İzmir'.
Wikidata: the İzmir Clock Tower opened on 1 September 1901 and is 25 m tall.
- Photo
- skyscrapers of İzmir, 16 February 2021
- Where the towers stand
- the Bayraklı and Konak districts
- İzmir Clock Tower
- opened 1 September 1901; 25 m tall
From Smyrna to İzmir
İzmir is very, very old. Long ago it was called Smyrna.
Other harbors nearby filled up with mud, but İzmir's harbor stayed open. That helped İzmir do well.
Universalis says the city's layout has stayed the same since the 4th century BCE, when Lysimachus rebuilt Smyrna on the slopes of Mount Pagos, with a citadel, Kadifekale, on top.
In ancient times other ports, such as Ephesus, were busier. But rivers slowly filled their harbors with mud. Smyrna was not at the mouth of a big river valley, so its harbor stayed open, and that brought the city its success.
Universalis: Strabo, in Roman times, called it the most beautiful city of Asia; in modern times it was one of the busiest ports of the Levant, and the reopening of western Anatolia to European trade in the 17th and 18th centuries made it more prosperous.
Late in the 19th century the growing delta of the Gediz threatened the entrance to the gulf; turning the river toward another bay in 1886 removed the danger.
- Rebuilt on Mount Pagos
- 4th century BCE, by Lysimachus
- Busy trading port
- 17th and 18th centuries
- Gediz river turned away from the bay
- 1886
Metro, valleys and an airport
In İzmir you can ride a metro train. Ships sail into the bay, and planes land at a big airport.
The İzmir Metro opened on 22 May 2000, Wikidata says. İzmir's international airport opened on 17 November 1987 and lies about 15 kilometers south of the Clock Tower.
Universalis says İzmir sits in the middle of the Aegean coast, with easy routes inland along the valleys of the Gediz and the Great Menderes rivers, and easy mountain passes to the northwest.
Wikidata: İzmir Metro, rapid transit, opened 2000-05-22; İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport, opened 1987-11-17, 14.6 km S of the Clock Tower.
Universalis: the Gediz and Great Menderes valleys are the main ways into inner Anatolia; other roads cross easy passes to northwestern Anatolia and the Marmara region.
- İzmir Metro
- opened 22 May 2000
- International airport
- opened 17 November 1987; about 15 km south of the Clock Tower
- Routes inland
- the Gediz and Great Menderes valleys
Hot, dry summers and rainy winters
Summer in İzmir is hot and very dry. Winter is cooler and rainy.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for İzmir give July days an average high of about 33 °C. January nights average about 6 °C.
About 686 millimeters of rain fall in a year, but almost none in summer: July and August have about 2 millimeters each. December is the wettest month, with about 151.
WMO World Weather Information Service, İzmir (rainfall 1938–2000): average highs from 12.2 °C in January to 33.0 °C in July; average lows from 5.6 °C in January to 22.0 °C in July. Rainfall 686.3 mm: December 150.8 mm and January 131.2 mm, but July 2.1 mm and August 2.2 mm.
November to February bring 472.9 mm, more than two-thirds of the year's total.
- July, average high (WMO)
- 33.0 °C
- January, average low (same table)
- 5.6 °C
- Rainfall in a year (WMO, 1938–2000)
- 686.3 mm
Carpets, cotton and the bazaar
People in İzmir make cloth and food in factories. Some still make carpets by hand.
The city has an old market district called Kemeraltı.
Universalis says İzmir has many kinds of industry, such as food processing, textiles (mostly cotton), chemicals and paper. Craftspeople still make the famous Smyrna carpets and leather.
Kemeraltı, İzmir's historic market district, lies about 300 meters east of the Clock Tower, and the Agora of Smyrna, the square of the ancient city, about 800 meters east.
Universalis: northwest of Mount Pagos lie the bazaar quarter, the port and a first industrial zone (mostly food packing); farther north, textile industries cover the Alsancak quarters; the city has grown around the bay to take in Karşıyaka on the north shore.
Wikidata: Kemeraltı, historical market district, 0.32 km E of the Clock Tower; Agora of Smyrna, square of the classical-era city, 0.79 km E.
- Famous craft
- Smyrna carpets
- Industries
- food, textiles (mostly cotton), chemicals, paper
- Kemeraltı
- the old market district, about 300 m east of the Clock Tower
İzmir on the map
Find Türkiye on the globe. İzmir is on its west coast, by the Aegean Sea.
İzmir lies at about 38.4° north, around the inner end of the Gulf of İzmir on Türkiye's Aegean coast. Measured from the Clock Tower, Kemeraltı is about 300 meters east, the Agora of Smyrna about 800 meters east and the airport about 15 kilometers south.
Universalis says the city stretches around the gulf for more than 30 kilometers.
İzmir lies at about 38.42° N and 27.13° E. From the İzmir Clock Tower (Wikidata points): Kemeraltı 0.32 km E, Agora of Smyrna 0.79 km E, İzmir's own point 1.09 km SE, the airport 14.6 km S.
Universalis: a very central position on the Aegean coast, at the inner end of a gulf whose entrance faces the Gediz delta.
- Latitude
- about 38.4° north
- Longitude
- about 27.1° east
- Setting
- around the inner Gulf of İzmir, on the Aegean coast
Amazing facts
-
İzmir's harbor stayed open while other harbors filled with mud!
Rivers slowly filled ancient harbors like Ephesus with mud. Smyrna was not at the mouth of a big river valley, so its harbor stayed open and it grew.
Universalis: Smyrna owed its fortune to the gradual silting of rival ports, notably Ephesus; not at the direct outlet of a large valley, it escaped that threat.
-
Long ago, a writer called İzmir the most beautiful city of Asia.
In Roman times, Strabo called Smyrna the most beautiful city of Asia, Universalis says.
Universalis: from the Roman period, Strabo considered it the most beautiful city of Asia.
-
People in İzmir still make carpets called Smyrna carpets.
Universalis says İzmir's craftspeople still make the famous Smyrna carpets, as well as leather.
Universalis: crafts remain lively, still producing the celebrated Smyrna carpets and hides (leather).
-
İzmir's clock tower is more than 120 years old.
The İzmir Clock Tower opened on 1 September 1901 and stands 25 meters tall, Wikidata says.
Wikidata: İzmir Clock Tower, opened 1901-09-01, height 25 m.
Words to know
- port
- a town or harbor where ships load and unload goods
- gulf
- a large bay, a part of the sea that reaches into the land
- silt
- fine mud and sand carried by a river, which can fill up a harbor
- delta
- the flat land a river builds out of mud and sand where it meets the sea
- agora
- the open market and meeting square of an ancient Greek city
- citadel
- a fort on a hill above a city
Discovery challenge
-
İzmir is a city in which country?
İzmir is the third-biggest city in which country?
İzmir is the second port of which country, after Istanbul?
- Greece
- Türkiye
- Italy
Show the answer
Türkiye
Türkiye!
Türkiye.
Türkiye.
-
What was İzmir called long ago?
What was İzmir's name in ancient times?
Lysimachus rebuilt which ancient city, today's İzmir, on Mount Pagos?
- Smyrna
- Troy
- Sparta
Show the answer
Smyrna
Smyrna!
Smyrna.
Smyrna.
-
Why did ships keep coming to İzmir when other harbors closed?
What filled up the harbors of rival ports like Ephesus, but not Smyrna's?
According to Universalis, what process ruined Smyrna's rivals and made its fortune?
- Mud from rivers
- Ice
- Sand dunes from a desert
Show the answer
Mud from rivers
Rivers filled the other harbors with mud!
Mud (silt) carried by rivers.
The gradual silting of the other ports.
-
Which month is the rainiest in İzmir?
Which month is the wettest in İzmir?
In the WMO table, which month has 150.8 mm of rain?
- December
- July
- August
Show the answer
December
December!
December.
December.
-
What kind of carpets are made in İzmir?
Which famous carpets do İzmir's craftspeople still make?
Universalis names which carpets, after the city's ancient name, as a living craft?
- Smyrna carpets
- Paper carpets
- Ice carpets
Show the answer
Smyrna carpets
Smyrna carpets!
Smyrna carpets.
Smyrna carpets.
Nearby places
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Watch
Landmark
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. It was rebuilt several times, and its 6th-century BCE version was more than 300 feet long. After a fire in 356 BCE it was built again just as big. Today only scattered stones and one column remain.
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Landmark
Ephesus
Ephesus was a great Greek and Roman city on the west coast of what is now Türkiye. Its ruins include ancient streets, a theater for nearly 25,000 people and the Library of Celsus, whose two-story front has been rebuilt. Archaeologists have been digging there since 1895.
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Landmark
Pergamon
Pergamon is an ancient city in western Türkiye, built on a steep hill above the Bakırçay Plain. It was the capital of the Attalid kings from the 3rd century BC and later of a Roman province. UNESCO says its kings founded one of the largest libraries, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Landmark
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was the tomb of Mausolus, ruler of Caria, in what is now southwestern Turkey. Built around 353 to 351 BCE, it was covered in sculptures by four famous Greek artists and became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. An earthquake probably brought it down, and its stones went into other buildings, but its name lives on in the word 'mausoleum'.
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Natural wonder
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea is part of the Mediterranean, between Greece and western Turkey. Its many islands are scattered across about 800 kilometers from north to south. On Santorini, a giant eruption about 3,600 years ago left a caldera hundreds of meters deep, partly flooded by the sea.
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Natural wonder
Pamukkale
Pamukkale, in southwestern Türkiye, is a hillside of bright white terraces and pools built by warm spring water. The water is full of a dissolved mineral called calcium carbonate, and as it flows over the slope it leaves the mineral behind as a rock called travertine. Its name means "cotton castle". On top stand the ruins of Hierapolis, an ancient spa town.
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Natural wonder
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara is a small inland sea between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, joined to them by two narrow straits. A big fault runs across its floor, and its water comes in two layers: less salty water from the Black Sea on top, and saltier Mediterranean water below.
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Landmark
Xanthos
Xanthos was the capital of ancient Lycia, in what is now southwestern Türkiye. Its ruins are known for unusual stone tombs, some set high on pillars, and for long texts carved in the Lycian language. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Xanthos-Letoon, listed in 1988.
Explore next
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Country
Türkiye (Turkey)
Türkiye, also called Turkey, lies partly in Asia and partly in Europe. A narrow waterway called the Bosporus runs through its biggest city, Istanbul, and its land is mostly mountains and high plains. About 86 million people live there.
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City
Istanbul
Istanbul is the biggest city in Türkiye, built on both sides of the Bosporus, the narrow strait between Europe and Asia. Once called Byzantium and then Constantinople, it was the capital of two great empires. About 15.7 million people lived in Istanbul province in 2023.
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City
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Türkiye, in the interior of Anatolia, about 200 kilometers from the Black Sea. People have lived here since the Stone Age, and Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans all left buildings behind. It became the capital in 1923, and today it is a city of government, universities and museums.
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City
Athens
Athens is the capital of Greece and one of the oldest cities in the world. Above it rises the Acropolis, a rocky hill crowned by the marble Parthenon, built about 2,500 years ago. Ancient Athens was home to early democracy, great thinkers and theater.
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Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It began in the 1700s as a small settlement around fresh water on an island, guarded by a coral-stone watchtower. Before oil, it relied on fishing and pearl diving; since the 1960s, money from oil has turned it into a city of towers. An official estimate gave the city about 1.75 million people in 2023.
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Almaty
Almaty is the main city of Kazakhstan, in the southeast of the country at the foot of the Ala-Tau mountains. It was founded in 1854 where a Kazakh village called Almaty, 'village of apple trees', stood. It was the capital until 1998, and about 2,387,900 people lived there on 1 September 2026.
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Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan, built on steep hills around a valley high on a plateau. Long ago it was a Roman city called Philadelphia, and its Roman theater, carved into a hillside, still holds about 6,000 people. Today the city spreads across the hills, with houses faced in pale stone. About 4.6 million people lived in Amman Governorate at the end of 2021.
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City
Ashgabat
Ashgabat is the capital of Turkmenistan, in Central Asia. It lies at the foot of the Kopet Dag mountains, with the Karakum Desert to the north. The 2022 census counted 1,030,063 people, and Guinness World Records lists the city for its many white marble buildings.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate İzmir at the end of a gulf on Türkiye's Aegean coast.
- Explain how silt from rivers can close a harbor.
- Read a climate table and compare a dry summer with a wet winter.
- Put events from ancient Smyrna to modern İzmir on a timeline.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Other harbors near İzmir filled with mud. What happens to a town when its harbor closes?
- İzmir had a different name long ago. Do you know places that changed their names?
- Summers in İzmir are almost dry. How do people and plants cope with months without rain?
Try at home or in class
- Silt jar: shake soil and water in a jar and watch how the mud settles to the bottom.
- Climate chart: plot İzmir's monthly rainfall and shade the dry summer months.
- Carpet pattern: design a repeating carpet pattern on squared paper.
Key vocabulary: port, gulf, silt, delta, agora, citadel
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Turkey: Provinces and Major Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Turkish Statistical Institute
- İzmir (Province, Turkey): Districts, Cities and Towns , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Turkish Statistical Institute
- Izmir , Encyclopaedia Universalis (Xavier de Planhol)
- Izmir: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service (Türkiye)
- File:Skyscrapers in Izmir - Turkey.jpg (BerkeKayalarr, 16 February 2021) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.