yes it's a nice places for holidays and living.
istanbul has a lot of historical places. but it's crowed. you find everything in İstanbul, historical places, clubs, restaurant... bla bla.
İzmir is my best city. because I'm living there. izmir is near the holiday places. (cesme,bodrum,kusadasi)
izmir has friendly people. when foreing people come to izmir, they dont have problems. everybody help to them.