EGETÜRKİYE

İzmir & the Peninsula

Harbours, vineyards, Ionia

A way of life from the bay to the peninsula's stone villages: the maritime memory of Smyrna, Teos, Klazomenai and Ephesus.

From basin to stop

On the İzmir Peninsula, production and public life belong to different histories. Erythrai and Klazomenai preserve distinct ancient production records; Teos adds harbours and civic institutions. Urla’s Bademler cooperative belongs to a modern agricultural setting, on a different scale from the ancient workshops.

Settlement and stone

At Erythrai, near Ildırı, finds point to settlement in the area from the Early Bronze Age. Across its recorded history, the city for a period made and exported millstones. Its acropolis holds two separate landmarks: a theatre on the northern slope and the remains of an Athena temple on the highest ground.

Urla’s cooperative profile

Urla’s district profile identifies olive cultivation as a principal agricultural product and describes the Bademler cooperative’s workshop processing its members’ olives. This is a modern local production setting, distinct from the ancient oil workshops at Klazomenai.

Olive oil in two periods

At Klazomenai, olive-oil workshops dated to the final quarter of the sixth century BCE connect production with the city’s prosperity. The date anchors this evidence in the late Archaic period.

Teos and civic life

At Teos, two harbours served an Ionian city whose civic life is also visible in its institutions. The Temple of Dionysus is dated to the early second century BCE; later Roman repairs and earthquake damage mark another layer. The Ionian Actors’ Association was founded there toward the end of the third century BCE, while gymnasium inscriptions preserve details of its teachers’ arrangements.

360-degree regional worlds

Stops in this region

Regional stories

Table and production narratives

Culture and memory narratives

Story and event archive

Frequently asked questions

How is İzmir & the Peninsula defined in this guide?

A way of life from the bay to the peninsula's stone villages: the maritime memory of Smyrna, Teos, Klazomenai and Ephesus.

Where should I begin exploring İzmir & the Peninsula?

You can start with stops such as Smyrna, Foça, Urla, then continue through regional stories and place dossiers from the same period.