Old Smyrna
Old Smyrna
4.5
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
On the very small promontory located at the foot of Yamanlar Mountain (ancient Sipylos) in Bayrakli was founded Old Smyrna. There inhabited since the beginning of the 3rd millennium. You can see at Old Smyrna the City Wall, Athena Tempel, graves, and houses from 7-4. century BC.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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Leanne P
8 contributions
May 2024 • Family
Old Smyrna in Izmir was amazing and we had it virtually to ourselves. (This is not the Roman Smyrna: its around the harbour and is 300-800 years earlier.)
Homer is said to have lived in Smyrna around 750BC ish. I was reading an account of his era: the bustling archaic Greek metropolis trading goods across the Mediterranean and upto Mesopotamia, the early progress of philosophy, mathematics, poetry, architecture etc.
A brilliant remnant dwelling shows the architectural style dismissed by The Romans but iconic to this era with the cluster of rooms around a central courtyard. There are clever water transfer systems and substantial ruins of the Temple to Athena, the civic meeting hall, storage quarters for their huge wine vats etc. You had to be imaginative but the evidence was all around and sufficiently labelled, though not well maintained. I loved to wander there and dream of a distance time. Plus Izmir is wonderful: bustling, clean, polite and friendly, huge old souk (market) linking to a great hotel (l’Agora), which opposite the phenomenal old Roman city of Smyrna.
Also ‘How to be’ by Adam Nicolson is a great book to put you in the space of old Smyrna. He does an amazing job of bringing Homer and his Greek city of Smyrner to life.
Homer is said to have lived in Smyrna around 750BC ish. I was reading an account of his era: the bustling archaic Greek metropolis trading goods across the Mediterranean and upto Mesopotamia, the early progress of philosophy, mathematics, poetry, architecture etc.
A brilliant remnant dwelling shows the architectural style dismissed by The Romans but iconic to this era with the cluster of rooms around a central courtyard. There are clever water transfer systems and substantial ruins of the Temple to Athena, the civic meeting hall, storage quarters for their huge wine vats etc. You had to be imaginative but the evidence was all around and sufficiently labelled, though not well maintained. I loved to wander there and dream of a distance time. Plus Izmir is wonderful: bustling, clean, polite and friendly, huge old souk (market) linking to a great hotel (l’Agora), which opposite the phenomenal old Roman city of Smyrna.
Also ‘How to be’ by Adam Nicolson is a great book to put you in the space of old Smyrna. He does an amazing job of bringing Homer and his Greek city of Smyrner to life.
Written 16 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Taner
Izmir, Türkiye868 contributions
Aug 2023 • Solo
Smyrna is located on the mound in Bayraklı, Izmir. It was a small peninsula surrounded by the sea on the west and south in ancient times. Bayraklı Mound, with a surface area of approximately one hundred acres, is a small hill built on a plain. The city of Smyrna spreads over a wide area towards the plain from this hill. First Scientific Studies in Bayraklı Mound Ord. Prof. Dr., Ekrem Akurgal and Prof. Dr. It was carried out by John M. Cook with a delegation consisting of British and Turkish members between 1948 and 1951. Studies Conducted Since 1948 B.C. Smyrna, which was founded as an Aeolian city in the 11th century, was especially popular in B.C. It reveals that a major breakthrough occurred in the field of architecture between 700-550. Although the Lydian Attacks after the Ascension of Gyges (680 BC) and especially during the Time of Alyattes (600 BC) showed that the Lydians always posed a danger to Smyrna, Smyrna experienced its brightest period during these processes. Smyrna is an ideal example of a city for the Archaic Period in Western Anatolia, with its walls surrounding the city, multi-roomed houses with bathrooms, a sacred structure, an environment providing public services, and a geometrically textured city plan. Open to the sea from the west and south, surrounded by mountains in the north and plains in the east, Smyrna is the city with the best defense system in Western Anatolia. However, surrounding the city B.C. It is currently impossible to unearth the 9th Century Early Adobe Wall and the Early 7th Century Early Archaic Period Stone Wall in the West, that is, on the sea side, due to the modern construction there. Excavations Reveal Very Important Scientific Results for This Place. The most important of these is the Hellenic Migration in 1050 and the discovery that the temple in the city is the oldest Hellenic temple in Anatolia. Ekrem Akurgal Restarts Smyrna Excavations in 1966. With the work he carried out until 1992, he brought to light settlement levels from the Geometric, Archaic and Classical Periods in Bayraklı Mound. Hundreds of oil lamps and two "Tabula Ansata" found here show that this place had a sacred identity in the Roman period. Although Smyrna is not an attractive ruin in terms of tourism, it is an open-air museum that exhibits the historical identity of the modern city.
Written 11 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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