WHAT TO SEE IN IZMIR

Although Izmir has been fought over many times in the thousands of years it has been inhabited, and suffered particular damage from Greek conquest, Turkish reconquest and a great fire during the Greek-Turkish war of 1922-3, the city has many sites of interest connected to the several civilizations that have ruled it, and some from before these times. A prehistoric site and lake associated with the mythological Tantalus, the ancient Greek settlement of Smyrna which gave its name to the city prior to Ottoman rule, the bazaar and castles constructed by the Ottomans and modern structures from the late Ottoman period that also reflect some European influences on 19th century Turkey.

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