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.