Smyrna

Ancient Smyrna is located on the mound in İzmir Bayraklı. It is a small peninsula that was surrounded by the sea to the west and south in ancient times. The Bayraklı Höyük (Mound), which is  about one hundred hectares, is a small hill built on a plain. Smyrna extends over a wide area towards the plain above this hill. Smyrna is an ideal example of the Archaic Period in Western Anatolia, with the wall surrounding the city, houses with several rooms and baths, a sacred building, a public fountain and a geometrical city plan. Open to the sea on the west and south, surrounded by mountains on the north and a plain on the east, Smyrna is the best example of a defensive city excavated in Western Anatolia. The temple uncovered during excavations in Smyrna is the oldest temple of Athena in Türkiye. İzmir, including its ancient mounds and settlements, is an open-air museum that exhibits the historical identity of the modern city within easy access for its visitors.