Kurtuluş

This morning, Mui and I decided to check out the ruins of the ancient Agora of İzmir ... aka the Agora of Smyrna. The MüzeKart we purchased in İstanbul in mid-April covered the ₺40pp admission.

The word agora comes from the Greek language. True to the meaning of the word, during antiquity, it was a place of trade and a place where political, religious, and cultural gatherings were held.

The Agora of Izmir was originally built by the Greeks in the 4th century BC. Destroyed during an earthquake in 178 AD, it was reconstructed on the orders of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Excavation of the site started in 1933 and continues to this day. In 2020, the Agora ruins were inscribed on the Tentative World Heritage Site list as part of "The Historical Port City of Izmir."

This was Mui's first time visiting the ruins. I'd been there a couple of times and noticed some new areas that have since been opened to visitors. While there, we also checked out the Ottoman Era cemetery with its interesting headstones.Read more