İzmir Province
Province of Turkey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
İzmir Province (Turkish: İzmir ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts out of 30 in total. To the west, it is surrounded by the Aegean Sea, and it encloses the Gulf of Izmir. Its area is 11,891 square kilometres (4,591 square miles),[2] and its population is 4,462,056 (2022).[1] Neighboring provinces are Balıkesir to the north, Manisa to the east, and Aydın to the south. The traffic code of the province is 35. The current governor of the province is Süleyman Elban, appointed in August 2023. [3]
İzmir Province
İzmir ili | |
|---|---|
Skyline of İzmir | |
 Location of the province within Turkey | |
| Coordinates: 38°29′04″N 27°08′26″E | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Seat | İzmir |
| Government | |
| • Vali | Cemil Tugay (IND) |
Area | 11,891 km2 (4,591 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[1] | 4,462,056 |
| • Density | 375.25/km2 (971.88/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Area code | 0232 |
| ISO Code | TR-35 |
| Website | www www |
Major rivers of the province include the Küçük Menderes river, Koca Çay (with Güzelhisar dam), and Bakırçay.
History
It is one of the oldest cities and ports of ancient Ionia in the Mediterranean Sea. The original settlement was founded around 3000 BC, and the city has survived through different iterations to this day. It was inhabited by Greek populations from antiquity until the destruction of Smyrna in 1922 and the exchange of populations that followed with the Treaty of Lausanne. In its long history it has changed location twice.
The first location (prehistoric times) was mentioned by Strabo as "Old Smyrna" and the second location was built by Alexander the Great and his descendants (Hellenistic period). Ionians, in about 11th century BC, established the League of Ionia. It was later conquered by the Persians and retaken by the Greeks before being subsumed into the Roman Empire. In Roman times it became very prosperous and the Romans honored it three times with the praiseworthy title of "young girl" because of its amazing prosperity.
The term "Catholic Church" was first used in 110 in a letter from St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Church of Smyrna. After the split of the Roman Empire, the area became part of what is now called the Byzantine Empire until it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the 14th century. In 1424, Smyrna was conquered by the Ottomans. However, before and after its occupation, Venetians and Genoese tried several times to include it in their Republics.
On September 13, 1472, the Venetians, under Pietro Mocenigo, captured and destroyed the city, in a failed attempt. Following the First World War, the province was ceded to Greece, but was retaken by the forces of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the Turkish War of Independence.
As a result of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, all Greek Orthodox inhabitants of the province were deported, and İzmir Province was incorporated into the modern republic of Turkey.
An earthquake on 30 October 2020 killed 117 people in the area.[4]
The 2025 Izmir wildfires began in June 2025 and continued into July, causing evacuation of over 50,000 people and large scale damages.[5]
Archaeology
In January 2021, archaeologists headed by Elif Koparal, announced the discovery of the ruins of a 2500 year-old temple of Aphrodite from the 5th century BC in the Urla-Çeşme peninsula. Among other findings in and around the temple, they found a statue piece depicting a woman, a terracotta female head and an inscription that reads, "This is the sacred area". The traces of the temple were first excavated in 2016.[6][7][8][9]
Agora of Smyrna
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Geography
The province of Izmir is located in western Turkey along the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea. It covers an area of approximately 11,900 square kilometers.[10] Izmir province has a varied topography of coastal plains, mountain ranges and river valleys.[10][11] Inland the terrain rises into mountain system that include the Bozdağlar, the Yunt Mountains and the Aydın Mountains.[12] The Gediz and Küçük Menderes rivers have deposited alluvial plains along their courses, which are used extensively for agriculture.[13] The province's coastline, shaped by tectonic activity and marine erosion, is deeply indented and includes numerous bays, peninsulas and natural harbours, the largest one is the Gulf of İzmir.[10][14] It extends more than 600 km and encompasses wetland, sandy beaches and other coastal habitats. These features have made Izmir one of the most significant regions of Turkey for settlement, agriculture, transport and tourism.[12][13][15]
Districts
Districts of the İzmir Province
Çeşme is located in the province
Demographics
Wind power generation
"The greater Izmir region produces 20% of Turkey’s wind power from wind turbines capable of generating more than 1,300 megawatts (MW)."[18]
