The book titled Levant’ın Yıldızı İzmir, Levantenler, Rumlar, Ermeniler ve Yahudiler is not merely a city history; it is the story of a mindset, of a culture of coexistence. In this work, Bülent Şenocak examines the multi-layered past of İzmir with an unbiased perspective, free from assertion.
With its Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Turks, Levantines, and many others, İzmir was once one of the brightest points of intersection between East and West, tradition and modernity. While reading the Ottoman social structure—capable of holding different communities together—through the lens of İzmir, the book also traces a lost cultural richness. It reveals how this city, which still inspires admiration today, was a "star" in the past. Levant’ın Yıldızı İzmir is an important reference book not only for those interested in İzmir but for anyone wishing to understand the memory, multicultural past, and connection to the present of this geography. It invites its reader to look at the city they live in with different eyes and to rethink their responsibilities towards it.
The fifth edition of the book Levant’ın Yıldızı İzmir was published by Yakın Publications in 2016.