Izmir

With over 8,000 years of history, Izmir is among the world’s ­oldest cities. Founded as Smyrna on the shores of the ­Aegean Sea, the city has beenhome to all manner of cultures over the centuries. Each one left behind its architectural traces, turning the city into a palimpsest of millennia of urban life. A cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic port city known as the ‘pearl of the ­Aegean‘ in the ­Ottoman Empire, Izmir is now one of Turkey’s largest metropolises. This book explores the diverse architectural ­heritage of the city. Through a selection of 265 buildings, among them the works of architects like Gustave Eiffel and ­Bruno Taut, it narrates the evolution of Izmir’s built environment from ancient times to the present. To help visitors understand the city‘s urban structure, it also explains the region’s characteristic ­architectural forms.