Onur İnal on the rise of late Ottoman İzmir
August 4, 2026
Turkey Book Talk #275 – Onur İnal of the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Vienna on “Gateway to the Mediterranean: An Environmental History of Late Ottoman Izmir” (Cambridge University Press).
The book describes how the cosmopolitan coastal city of Izmir, often known in Europe at the time as Smyrna, flourished in the second half of the 19th century, becoming a major connection between the Ottoman Empire, Europe and the rest of the world.
It shows how settlers, migrants and investors exploited the natural resources in the hinterland of Western Anatolia to create a transportation hub of people and goods in Izmir.
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Turkey Book Talk episode #142 – Malte Fuhrmann, research fellow at the Liebniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, on “Port Cities of the East Mediterranean: Urban Culture in the Late Ottoman Empire” (Cambridge University Press).
The book paints a panorama of cultural and social life in the diverse port cities of Salonica, Istanbul and Izmir in the late Ottoman era, when European cultural traits and economic developments had a profound impact on the daily experiences of locals across confessional boundaries.
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