- published: 12 Jul 2015
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Gaziemir is a district of İzmir Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is one of the metropolitan districts of Greater İzmir and is situated to the south of central İzmir (Konak) on the road to İzmir. İzmir Adnan Menderes International Airport and the export processing industrial park of Aegean Free Zone; which is also home to the third space camp in the world, Space Camp Turkey, are situated within the boundaries of the district.[citation needed]Adnan Menderes Airport is located in Gaziemir.
Gaziemir was founded in the 14th century by Umur Beg (Ghazi Umur, called Umur Pasha in Ottoman sources) of the dynasty of the Beylik of Aydin, who had brought and settled Yörük clans from Konya to the region. The first mention in Ottoman records dates from 1530 and the settlement was named Seydiköy in honor of a Yörük chief, Seydi Ahmed, whose tomb still stands. The town's evolution can be traced fairly smoothly through the centuries by means of regular references in Ottoman sources. After the 17th century, in line with the general pace of development in fertile western Anatolian valleys based on olive/figs/raisin/cotton exports and the ensuing population movements from the Aegean Islands, Seydiköy was largely settled by Greeks which came to constitute a large majority as of the second half of the 19th century.