Izmir, Turkey

Izmir is the location of the ancient Smyrna situated in the Gulf of Izmir on the Aegean Sea. This city only recently lost to Istanbul, after 1400 years, the honour of being the largest export port city of Asia Minor. With a population of about 4.5 million people, it is the third largest city of the modern Republic of Turkey and is the capital of Izmir Province.

Izmir itself is not a stop on our Small Group Tour of Ancient Turkey, but the tour spends several days in the region around it: from Kusadasi, south of Izmir, we visit Ephesus, its museum and the Temple of Artemis, and the village of Sirince, and on the way north to Çanakkale we visit Pergamon. This article explores the history of the city and the Izmir region to assist your Izmir holiday.

Izmir City panoramic view from building in city. Izmir is the third biggest city of Turkey.

The History of Izmir

The ancient city has a 5,000-year history. It was here that Alexander the Great is said to have ordered the refounding of the city on Mount Pagos, and Izmir is still called the “Pearl of the Aegean”. The city also claims to be the hometown of Homer, author of the great epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Like Pergamum, Sardis and Ephesus, Smyrna was one of the seven churches of Asia in the Book of Revelation, “the church that would suffer persecution”.

Sardis, located east of Izmir, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, one of the important cities of the Persian Empire, the Roman Empire, and the metropolis of the province Lydia in later Roman times and during the Byzantine period. At the Sardis site the bath-gymnasium complex, the synagogue and Byzantine shops are all clearly visible as is the on-going excavation of the site supported, as in the past, by universities from the USA. The discovery of the Sardis synagogue reversed previously held assumptions about Judaism in the later Roman Empire.

Ephesus (Efes) is south of Izmir, close to Kusadasi. It was established in ancient times as a port and used to be the most important commercial centre located in the fertile valley of the River Cayster (Küçük Menderes). Over time flood deposits from the river silted up the harbour so that the sea front is now several kilometres to the west of Ephesus. With the demise of the harbour, Ephesus’ importance as a commercial centre declined. Ephesus, near the modern town of Selcuk, is considered to be the best-preserved classical city of the Eastern Mediterranean. This most impressive site is easily accessible, especially by tourists visiting the port of Kusadasi by ship, and so is extremely busy and popular. The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis begun around 550 BC, which was burned down in 356 BC and later rebuilt. Although there was partial rebuilding of the city, earthquakes destroyed the city in later times. One estimate suggests that only 15% of the site has been excavated with work to date revealing the Roman Baths, the Temple of Hadrian, Celsus Library, two agoras and a theatre with a seating capacity of about 25,000 people.

There are many connections and relationships between sites in the Selcuk area and early Christianity, with it being claimed that St John the Evangelist brought the Virgin Mary here in 37 AD and that she spent the last years of her life here in a modest stone house.

On our Ancient Turkey tour the group stays three nights at Kusadasi. Day 16 is spent at Ephesus, with its terrace houses, the Archaeological Museum, the Temple of Artemis and the Virgin Mary’s House, and Day 17 is a free day. On Day 18 we visit the hill village of Sirince, among its peach orchards and vineyards, before driving to Foça on the coast north of Izmir. On the way to Çanakkale on Day 19 we visit the Pergamon and Asclepion archaeological sites.

The Library of Celsus, built in A.D. 135, in the ancient city of Ephesus.

Set on a hill high above the modern town of Bergama are the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Pergamum (or Pergamon) and the first excavations here were between 1878 and 1886. Sometimes referred to as the Acropolis, this city, built by one of Alexander’s generals, had its golden age in the Hellenistic (Attalid) period, 281 – 133 BC. On the site are several palaces, the library, two agora temples along with two outstanding structures, the Sanctuary of Trajan and the exceedingly steep Hellenistic Theatre. Many of the smaller treasures and the Altar of Zeus have unfortunately been exported and are now found as museum exhibits in Berlin.

Pergamon, ruins of the Roman city

Close to Bergama is the Asclepion named after the health god. There was a connecting road between Pergamum and the Asclepion, a place of medicine and healing that was founded in the 4th century BC. Claudius Galenus, who is better known as Galen of Pergamon and who was a very prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher, established his reputation in Pergamum. Excavation started here in 1927 with the most recent between 1969 and 1971.

Touring the Izmir Region

Odyssey’s Turkey tour spends 3 nights at Kusadasi, south of Izmir, on a 21-day route from Istanbul to Gallipoli and back. During the tour we visit some of the most spectacular, varied, and historically important sites in the ancient world. This small group Turkey tour begins and ends in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city and seaport, and the place where east meets the west on the Bosphorus strait. Discover Turkey with Odyssey on this amazing guided tour through the ancient world linking the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, Asia and Europe together on this history tour. Our tour packages are especially designed to be suitable for mature travellers, whether joining as a couple or as solo travellers.

Odyssey Traveller has been serving global travellers since 1983 with educational tours of the history, culture, and architecture of our destinations designed for mature travellers. We specialise in offering small group tours partnering with a local tour guide at each destination to provide a relaxed and comfortable pace and atmosphere that sets us apart from larger tour groups. Tours consist of small groups of up to 16 people. For more information, click here, and head to the tour page to make a booking.

Articles about Turkey published by Odyssey Traveller.

• Treasures of the Ottoman Empire
• Turkey: From Anatolia to the Ottoman Empire
• Ten Unimaginable Destinations
• Ten Books for Travellers to Turkey
• Ten Things to See in Turkey

For all the articles Odyssey Traveller has published for mature travellers, click through on this link.

External articles to assist you on your visit to Turkey.

• How to spend 3 days in Istanbul (Drifter Planet)
• 10 Days in Turkey: A Travel Itinerary (Map and Magnets)
• How to travel from Istanbul to Cappadocia (Turkey Travel Planner)