In the mid-to-late nineteenth century, Izmir transformed more rapidly than at any other time in its long history and became indelibly linked to its hinterland. In this period, much of the urban and rural landscape people inhabited today in Western Anatolia was created: a large port city with modern facilities, remarkably fertile farmlands, and the major transportation linkages that connect the city with the interior. This book employs the “gateway city” model to understand how Izmir grew and prospered in tandem with Western Anatolia in the late Ottoman Empire.