İzmir

View of İzmir.

İzmir is a city in the west of Turkey. It has one of the biggest seaports in the Aegean Sea region and all of Turkey. İzmir is a popular destination for tourists, who come for beaches and cultural tours. It has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa in the Köppen climate classification). Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey.

This is an ancient city; many scholars think Homer was born in Smyrna. An earthquake destroyed it in 187 AD, and it was rebuilt. The Greek name for this formerly Greek city is Smyrna. That name was also used in English until the 20th century. About 30 km (20 miles) south of İzmir, there is an ancient Greek city named Ephesus.

İzmir was a candidate for Expo 2015. However, Milan had more support, so İzmir lost.