The Gulf of İzmir (), formerly known as the Gulf of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, is a

gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

on the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, with its inlet between the Karaburun Peninsula and the mainland area of

Foça Foça is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 251 km2, and its population is 34,946 (2022). The town of Foça is situated at about northwest of İzmir's city center on the Aegean Sea, Aege ...

. It is in length by in breadth, with an excellent anchorage. The city of

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, an important port city of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, surrounds the end of the gulf.

Geography

The northern limit of the Gulf of İzmir is defined as a 13 nmi line running from Cape Kanlıkaya () of the Karaburun Peninsula, to Cape Aslan () of

. The surface area of the gulf is , while its shore length is . Uzunada located in the Gulf of İzmir is Turkey's fourth largest island. Other islands of the gulf include Hekim Island, Foça Islands ( Orak Island, Fener Ada, Incir Ada, Metelik Island), Çiçek Islands ( Yassıca Island, Pırnarlı Island, İncirli Island, Akça), Karantina Island, Yılan Island, and Büyük Ada. Seventeen rivers empty into the gulf, most notably the Gediz and the Meles. Gediz Delta, which is a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Levent Marina is the only marina located in the gulf.

Geology

The Gulf of İzmir was formed during the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

geological period. The east-west direction pit of the gulf was formed as a result of breaking the faults.

Flora and fauna

The northeastern coast of the gulf is the habitat of the Mediterranean monk seal. İzmir Birds Paradise in the north of the gulf and Çakalburnu Lagoon in the south are the breeding ground of the birds.

History

It is known that the first settlements around the gulf were in the

Neolithic Age The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...

. The most known settlement is

, which was established around present-day

Bayraklı Bayraklı is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 30 km2, and its population is 299,859 (2024). It covers the northern part of the metropolitan area of İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and tow ...

in 3300s BC.

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

, who came to İzmir after the Battle of Ankara, seized İzmir Port Castle and its surroundings in December 1402 and ordered the destruction of the castle. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, naval battles occurred between Sancakburnu Castle and Urla in March 1915 and around Uzunada in May 1916.

Economy

Port of İzmir is a cargo and passenger port located to the east of the gulf. It is the seventh largest port of the country in terms of container volume and thirteenth in terms of cargo tonnage. There are nine active passenger ferry quays in the gulf. The İZKARAY project, which envisages the joining of the two sides of the gulf with a bridge, an artificial island and a tunnel, will provide road and rail connections between Balçova and

Çiğli Çiğli is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 139 km2, and its population is 214,065 (2022). It covers the northwestern part of the agglomeration of İzmir, around the mouth of the river ...

districts.

Shipwrecks

There are five known shipwrecks in the Gulf of İzmir. At a depth of 16.4 meters off the Sancakburnu Castle, there are wrecks of two ships, one of which is 118 meters and the other is 86 meters long, which crashed into each other in 1957. There is another shipwreck located off Güzelbahçe at a depth of 42 meters, which was discovered at the beginning of 2017, thought to be a 78 meters long cargo ship that sank in the late 1800s. It is also stated that one to four ships were sunk in the gulf during the First World War. Dozens of shipwrecks off the Sancakburnu Castle were removed from the sea in 1967 and in the following years.

Pollution

In the period when 200,000 people lived around the gulf, the discharge of wastewater into the gulf did not cause any obvious problems. However, with the population exceeding 500,000 and industrialization, waste that has exceeded the capacity of the gulf to renew itself has begun to be discharged into the gulf. In this period, pollution became noticeable and the people could no longer swim in the gulf. With the population exceeding 1.7 million in the 1990s, the level of pollution has risen a lot and heavy metal traces were found in fish. In 1992, the treatment and sewage system, called the Grand Canal Project, started to be built by İZSU. Launched in October 2002, the system prevented waste water discharge to the gulf. By the 2010s, it was observed that the pollution in the gulf was removed and the marine life returned to normal. With the Gulf of İzmir Oceanographic Monitoring Project carried out by İZSU since 2000, the cleaning of the gulf is tracked.

Leisure

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

is supported by Karşıyaka S.K. and Göztepe S.K. in the inner gulf. Yacht, sailing, canoe, rowing and dragon boat races are held in the gulf with the İzmir Gulf Festival, which is organized annually since 2017. The gulf hosts the İnciraltı Sea Museum and the Zübeyde Hanım Education and Museum Ship. There are nine

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

es around the gulf (four in Foça, three in Karaburun, one in Güzelbahçe and one in Urla). There is a ban on diving in twelve points in the gulf to protect cultural and natural heritage.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulf of Izmir Geography of İzmir Landforms of İzmir Province Izmir Izmir