The Gulf of ðzmir (), formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the Karaburun Peninsula and the mainland area of Foça. It is in length by in breadth, with an excellent anchorage. The city of ðzmir, an important port city of Turkey, surrounds the end of the gulf.
The northern limit of the Gulf of ðzmir is defined as a 13 nmi line running from Cape Kanlñkaya () of the Karaburun Peninsula, to Cape Aslan () of Foça. The surface area of the gulf is , while its shore length is .
Uzunada located in the Gulf of ðzmir is Turkey's fourth largest island. Other islands of the gulf include Hekim Island, Foça Islands (Orak Island, Fener Ada, Incir Ada, Metelik Island), ÃÂiçek Islands (Yassñca Island, Pñrnarlñ Island, ðncirli Island, Akça), Karantina Island, Yñlan Island, and Büyük Ada.
Seventeen rivers empty into the gulf, most notably the Gediz and the Meles. Gediz Delta, which is a Ramsar site, is located in the northeast of the gulf.
Levent Marina is the only marina located in the gulf.
The Gulf of ðzmir was formed during the Quaternary geological period. The east-west direction pit of the gulf was formed as a result of breaking the faults.
The northeastern coast of the gulf is the habitat of the Mediterranean monk seal. ðzmir Birds Paradise in the north of the gulf and ÃÂakalburnu Lagoon in the south are the breeding ground of the birds.
It is known that the first settlements around the gulf were in the Neolithic Age. The most known settlement is Smyrna, which was established around present-day Bayraklñ in 3300s BC. Timur, who came to ðzmir after the Battle of Ankara, seized ðzmir Port Castle and its surroundings in December 1402 and ordered the destruction of the castle. During the First World War, naval battles occurred between Sancakburnu Castle and Urla in March 1915 and around Uzunada in May 1916.
Port of ðzmir 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 ðZKARAY 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 ÃÂiÃÂli districts.
There are five known shipwrecks in the Gulf of ðzmir. 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.
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 ðZSU. 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 ðzmir Oceanographic Monitoring Project carried out by ðZSU since 2000, the cleaning of the gulf is tracked.
Sailing is supported by Karà Âñyaka 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 ðzmir Gulf Festival, which is organized annually since 2017. The gulf hosts the ðnciraltñ Sea Museum and the Zübeyde Hanñm Education and Museum Ship. There are nine Blue Flag beaches 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.