5000 year old NEW city IZMIR
Leyla Cingoz of Hilton is a Jewel of an Asset for the "Pearl of Aegean"
Ercument Kilic, ATAA President-Elect-Birthplace of Homer, ancient Smyrna, known in Turkish a "Beautiful Izmir", the city lies at the head of a long and narrow gulf furrowed by ships and yachts. The climate is mild and in the summer the constant and refreshing sea breezes temper the sun's heat.

Behind the palm-lined promenades and avenues which follow the shoreline with a long parade of restaurants and cafes, the city, in horizontal terraces, gently ascends the slopes of the surrounding mountains.

The third largest city in Turkey, Izmir's port is second only to that of Istanbul. A cosmopolitan and lived city all year around, during the International Arts Festival in June, and The International Fair in August, Izmir bursts with added vibrancy.

The city was erected on a much older city. It is Bayrakli near Izmir that we see the traces of first settlements. The excavations carried out near Izmir that we see the traces of the first settlements. The excavations carried out in this place have proved that the initial settlements here dated back to the 3rd century BC. At the time, the city possessed wide frontiers. The ceramics of foreign origin discovered in the excavations indicate that the city flourished, particularly in maritime trade.

Smyrna was captured and destroyed by Alyattes, king of Lydia in 600 and later was reconstructed and restored. Following the defeat of the Lydians by the Persians, the latter seized it before it was eventually taken by Alexander the Great in 334 BC.

It is said that Alexander, while on an hunting expedition in the surroundings of Kadifekale, felt tired, wanted to take a rest, and fell asleep. The dream he dreamed, as told by Pausanias, inspired him to lay the foundations of a new city on the slopes of Kadifekale. The population of the old city had to move to this new place. Lysimachos proved faithful and had walls erected which still bear his name. The city grew and became an important center.

Smyrna, taken by the king of Pergamon after Alexander the Great, passed to the hands of Rome after the fall of Pergamon. Strabo wrote in the 1st century BC. that the most beautiful city of Ionia was Smyrna. Herodotus had the following to say: "I have been all around the world and realized that the most beautiful part of the earth and the most beautiful sky of the universe are in lonia. That must have been the reason for its being the cradle of civilizations."

Tiberius, Hadrian and Caracalla took a close interest in Smyrna , which was highly regarded by Rome, and granted it certain privileges. The city, destroyed in I78 AD was reconstructed later by Marcus Aurelius and decorated with many beautiful structures. It became an archdiocese in Christian times, and flourished during 5th and 6th centuries AD.

However the city had to undergo the ill-starred consequences of the Arab raids and eventually became an ordinary city. Today excavations are under way at Bayrakli with the aim of uncovering the ancient Smyrna lying beneath the modern city. However it should be born in mind that the ancient city is nearly impossible to unearth. Some 30-40 years ago the theater and the stadium could still be seen but today even thls is no longer possible.

The road, referred to as the "Sacred Road", of 10 meters width that crossed Smyrna and to which Strabo referred as the most beautiful road he had ever seen, was decorated with porticoes that have since been discovered during the excavations in the environs of Esref Pasa. We know that Smyrna, which was one of the important centers of trade, possessed under the Romans an agora near the harbor. This agora, of with some of the columns have now been redressed, is still to be seen.

The agora measuring 80 by I20 meters was discovered in 1932 by Prof. Numan. On the eastern and western facades there stood a two-storied stoa, which was decorated with two rows of columns. On the northern side there is a section 28 meters wide. Beneath the columns to the north, we see stylobates upholding the arches. A section of 72 meters in the western portico with gates has just been discovered. The agora was built töwards the middle of 2nd century AD and was destroyed by an earthquake in I78 AD it was reconstructed by Marcus Aurelius. The portraits figuring now on the western arches of Marcus Aurelius and of his wife Faustina bear witness to this. Ancient authors say that an altar dedicated to Zeus stood in the middle of the Agora in 150 AD.

The artifacts unearthed in the excavations in the environs of Izmir were taken to the Archeological Museum of Izmir, which is the oldest museum in the Aegean region. This museum has now moved to its new premises at Konak. This museum must be seen for a pro Per understanding of ancient Aegean civilizations.

LEYLA CENGIZ, A JEWEL IN THE PEARL OF TURKEY
Leyla Cingoz, The General Secretary of Izmir Convention and Visitors Bureau, is a graduate of Uskudar Turkish-American Girls High School, and Middle East Technical University (ODTU), has also been working as the Director of Sales and Merketing of Izmir Hilton for ten years. An avid musician and a Turkish folkdancer during college years, Cengiz has also reunited a large group of ODTU graduates in Izmir and formed a dance troop as well, participating in dance competitions in Turkey while maintaining a busy work schedule. "It is a disease, this dance thing," she says, "Once it inflicts upon you, it stays in your blood the rest of your life."

CHANGING TIMES
"I was offered the position before the hotel was even opened" she says. And that was ten years ago. However unassuming, she still adds: "We brought the Western concept of marketing and hotel management to Izmir". They were the first hotel in Izmir who made a point of visiting with local businesses, advertising and promoting their product. "Today though" she adds, "It is a common occurrence for hotels to approach local businesses for sales purposes and we take pride in that." One change has been however that, then they would have been met and welcomed at front doors, now the hotel sales personnel have to sit tight in a waiting room until the executive is ready to receive you. Cingoz says: " In a way, a good sign of changing times in Turkey".

A LEADER
This industrious bee, jewel of Izmir, took it at heart to bring about more change to Izmir. Two years ago she founded the Izmir Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Bureau is comprised of Governor's Office of Izmir, Tourism and Travel Agencies Association of Izmir, Efes Convention Center, Izmir Chamber of Commerce, and Izmir Hilton. Recently they have participated in the Istanbul Tourism Fair and, soon after the September 11 attacks, The Chicago Tourism Fair. Ms. Cingoz says "during a very sensitive period when the eyes of all Americans were wide open as to who'd stand by them, I believe we did great service to Turkey by attending this fair and doing our fair share not only by reiterating the Turkish support and being visible as the Izmir/Turkey booth, but also through our private contacts and the friendships we cultivated there."

CITIES (BELEDIYELER).. ESSENTIAL
"If we need to market ourselves as all Izmir citizens and Izmir businesses, we must hold hand and hand," Cingoz adds. Therefore she wishes a more active support by the business sectors and even the city of Izmir (Izmir Belediyesi). "People like me are as temporary actors, but the local businesses and the local government such as the city "the belediye" are the permanent fixtures, and only through their involvement our efforts can become longer lasting."

IZMIR'S PREDICAMENT
Apparently, certain other cities in Turkey as well, have their own visitors and convention bureaus, however Izmir seems to experience a predicament, a weakness in promoting itself. Istanbul for instance is a metropolis, among the best recognized cities in the world and has better opportunities to attract conventions there, however this city known as "The Pearl of Turkey", with all the enormous historical wealth, extensive natural resources, a dynamic tourism industry with the world's most luxurious hotels and resorts, not to mention the cultural and religious diversity in Izmir itself - Izmir is home thousands of Sephardic Jews, and has been for 500 years - Izmir metropolitan has experienced promoting itself as a tourist destination and a great city and a center for conventions. Cingoz adds "We have the right infrastructure for this. We have a convention center here. We have variety of universities here, the best hotels, the best restaurants. It is our aim to bring Izmir to the forefront and market it along with the surrounding areas. An important ancient city Bergama is right by us, Foca, Cesme with all their natural beauty are here. Alacaati, a windsurfing destination discovered and worshipped by the Germans is right here"

SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Cingoz also says, there are also concepts and facilities lacking in Izmir which otherwise would make it much more appealing to the Americans and the Japanese. Golf courses for instance. "It is all a matter of supply and demand," says this Economics major, and adds: " As the demands increase, the supplies do too. If we cannot realize our maximum potential based of what supply we have now, it is unrealistic to expect additional demand. If you can create the demand, the additional supplies will follow. We have to be smart enough to see that delicate balance between the supply and the demand and must become skillful nurturing and maintaining that balance".

ON THE AGENDA FOR IZMIR AND THE VISITORS BUREAU
Leyla Cingoz says that their probably most ambitious project is one the Governor Alaattin Yuksel has taken a great interest; Bringing Formula 1 car races to Izmir. The governor has organized a meeting in March in Ankara with Mumtaz Salimcioglu, the president of Federation of Automobile Sports of Turkey, in which meeting he intends to persuade the Federation to make the name of Izmir to the forefront, and make Izmir the federation's destination as it deals with Formula1. Cingoz says: "As you know, Formula 1 has viewership all over the world, and with a large following in media circles, and what an awesome event it would be for us to host in Izmir?"

ADDITIONAL CONCERNS
Izmir has an excellent international airport, however with the limited number! of only one scheduled airline (German carries Lufthansa) with direct flights, the full potential of this airport, therefore Izmir is not fully realized. Swiss Air which also had direct service to Izmir has declared bankruptcy and is out of business. Even our national airlines, Turkish Airlines has discontinued direct service to Izmir from major European cities. Despite the fact that charter airlines do have direct service to Izmir, when these flights are limited only to the summer months, the rest of the year any potential Izmir goers, may they be tourists or perhaps even possible groups for meetings or conventions, are left with time management concerns. Even though Turkish Airlines employees the universally accepted method of "using a hob-city" at its headquarters - in this case Istanbul- in routing their flights, nevertheless the practice becomes a handicap for Izmir, and to any additional tourism revenues possibly headed for Izmir.

In addition, the charter airlines with their less than perfect on time record, and lack of firm commitment to flying at any given day when flights may be less than full, are not favored by any serious group for a scheduled tour involving hotels, tour guides, and busses, or by possible convention site seekers. Ms. Cingoz says: " I believe, as more airlines select Izmir for their direct flights from Europe or even the US, Izmir will be able to contribute much better financial resources to Turkey vie additional tourism monies and foreign reserves". "Imagine for instance" says Cingoz, " your scientific organization in Europe considering Izmir for a convention. The moment you understand that you have to route through Istanbul, spending a few hours, going through passport control, customs inspections, terminal changes, etc., Izmir no longer is in your list of candidate cities. For professional people and their groups, with a time constraint of making it all happen between a Thursday and a Sunday, changing flights is the last thing you want to do."

FINANCE, FINANCE, FINANCE
Ms. Cingoz admits that the utmost obstacle in the way of accomplishing the goals of Izmir Convention and Visitors Bureau is money, and continues: "It is obvious that under the current financial scene in Turkey, the private sources are limited in their commitments to our cause, however possibly we encourage donations from Turks living abroad and even certain allocations from Turkish Promotional Funds. Such expenditures are not dead end spending. They will pay for themselves in tenfold as we become host to many more tourists in the region. Such an expenditure can only be viewed as smart investments without any risk at all. What do we need the funds for? We have to participate in many travel and touristic fairs around the world as possible. It costs us money to travel and lodge for a few days by a few people around the world. Despite the fact that we engage in no extravagant expenditures during our travels, there are some basic expenditures from which we must not cut any corners. The minimum of 4 or 5 fairs we must attend can cost us no more that $30,000 a year. I know these are insignificant numbers however, we have a hard time coming up with it and we do need assistance from outside sources. One would wish that more government promotional monies would be spent for purposes of attracting more tourism to Turkey and organizations such as ours are ready and able to deliver immediate results. Therefore we would encourage Turks abroad to consider donations to our Foundation (Vakif). For instance, there is an international organization called International Association of Conventions and Visitors Bureaus. Should we become a member to them, we can take many advantages of theirs as they are power brokers in predetermining attractive destinations for their members cities only. With its study groups, this organization puts out bulletins to all types of organizations around he world as to attractive destinations and provide a great service for their members. We are not able to take advantage of such a membership due to budgetary restraints, and therefore we miss opportunities almost daily."

NEXT STOP GENEVA
"The next endeavor for us to attend a fair in Geneva next May. Now we are in the process of producing promotional materials and aim to create one to one relationships within our industry. The fact that I happen to be working for Hilton gives me an additional leverage in my dealings with others. We maintain our organization with a $500 annual fee. As you know, such endeavors as ours really need budgets in excess of $300,000, $400,000. If we desire to earn our deserved place in the world market, we must find ways to reach those amounts. Just imagine, based on what we can produce now, how much better we would do should we be able to accomplish better budgetary stands!"