Pearl in Peril

Known as "the Pearl of the Mediterranean," Izmir invokes a city and countryside blessed with good fortune; it is known to many as the homeland of Ephesus, Bergama, and Sardis. Yet, Turkey''s third largest city has an especially vexed past. The Greek pursuit of the Megali Idea leveraged Classical history for 19th century political gains, and in so doing also foreshadowed the "Asia Minor Catastrophe...