Gateway to the Mediterranean

Gateway to the Mediterranean Synopsis

This in-depth exploration of Ottoman Izmir is the first book to study a Mediterranean port city through an environmental historical lens. Onur Inal documents the development of this major Eastern Mediterranean port-city from small coastal town, to transport hub, to a gateway linking the river valleys of Western Anatolia to worldwide markets. Key to this evolution, he argues, was the relationship between a city and countryside which not only shared a common past, but fundamentally reshaped each other during the years of the late Ottoman Empire.

Introducing a cast of both human and non-human historical actors, including camels, horses and micro-organisms, Inal demonstrates the transformative impact of their interaction on the city and its hinterlands. By proposing the 'gateway city' model, this rich analysis provides an alternative way to understand the creation of an integrated economic and ecological space in Western Anatolia.