Tourism Guide

First settlement of ancient Smyrna dates back to 3000 BC. During the excavations in Bayrakli district, these settlements were discovered at Tepekule area in the north-eastern part of Izmir. In the Ionic dialect the city was called Smurne, and in the Attica as Smyrna, but it's also believed that this word could be a local Anatolian dialect. According to the Greek geographer Strabo, the name was coming from an Amazonian queen. This small peninsula of Tepekule had a grid plan and a small harbor considering the Hellenes were mainly involved with the sea. At around 205 meters high hill of Bayrakli there are some ruins belonging to the tomb of king Tantalus, a mortal son of Zeus, from 7th century BC. Phrygians and Lydians had their influence on Smyrna between 8th-7th centuries BC. The famous writer and poet Homer was born in Smyrna at around 8th century BC. In the 6th century Persians captured the city, which was freed by Alexander The Great in the 4th century BC. Old Smyrna lived its heydays until 4th century BC when its harbor was silted up because of Meles river and floods, therefore it was moved to the location of Pagos mountain.

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