The second-largest port (after
Istanbul) and the third most populous city of
Turkey (formerly known as Smyrna
?) is located on the
Aegean Sea near the [Gulf of Izmir]
?. The city was settled before 3000 B.C. and was an important city of Ionians. It was an important center for traders and merchants during the
Seljuk and
Ottoman period. Izmir was completely destroyed in the Turkey's war for independence and was rebuilt after 1922.