Explore Izmir & Pergamon, Izmir, Turkey

The large city of Izmir is a popular place to use as a base to explore some of the surrounding sites such as Ephesus or Pamukkale. Although we didn鈥檛 come to the city for access to those sites, we did spend a few days exploring the city as well as the nearby ancient city of Pergamon.

Izmir was built on the location of the ancient city of Smyrna. Unfortunately, most of it was destroyed by a fire during the Greco-Turkish War in 1922. As a result, today Izmir has more modern buildings than it does heritage sites.

One of the remaining structures from that time is Kadifekale Castle. Situated atop Mount Pagos, the fortification was built by Alexander the Great and rebuilt by Byzantines and then again by Ottomans. Almost all that is left of the fortified city of Smyrna are sections of the defensive wall and a few of its towers. The best part of the site is climbing up the towers for great views of the city sprawled out below.

The only other feature that remains is a Roman cistern. This large reservoir provided water to the city鈥檚 15,000 inhabitants. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).

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Guide Name: Explore Izmir & Pergamon
Guide Location: Turkey » Izmir
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Insider Tips)
Author: Maggie Kayes
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