The Istanbul-based Aras Armenian Publishing House has released the book entitled “The Armenians of Izmir” and devoted to the Armenians of Smyrna.

The book is already available on Aras’s official website and can be ordered online.

Author of the book Zakaria Mildanoglu states that information about the Armenians of Smyrna had been forgotten for a long time and the topic had not been studied to this day, writes tert.am.

According to the author, it is not so easy to talk about the history, culture and heritage of the Armenians in the Aegean region.

Before WWI, Armenians, Greeks and Jews made up 60 percent of the population of Izmir.

The fire in Smyrna, which is also historically known as the Smyrna Catastrophe, took place in September 1922. During the war, the troops of the Kemalist government of Turkey defeated the Greek troops that had penetrated into the depths of Asia Minor and liberated ancient Greek territories and invaded Smyrna on September 9, 1922.

To escape from the massacres, thousands of Armenians took shelter in the area near the Saint Stephen’s Church. The fire burned over 50,000 homes, 24 churches, 28 schools, banks, consulates and hospitals.