Izmir, Turkey. Photo courtesy of Thomas Depenbusch via Flickr.
Izmir is Turkey’s third largest city and boasts thousands of years of turbulent history. Sitting on Turkey’s Aegean coast and surrounded by mountains to the east and south, Izmir was once known as the legendary Greek city of Smyrna. During its 4,000-year existence it has accumulated archaeological remains from the Trojans, Hittites, Lydians, Greeks, Roman and Ottomans. With so many civilizations leaving their mark throughout Izmir’s history, it should be fairly obvious that the Aegean coast on which the city sits was quite important to the ancient world.
Today, Izmir is one of Turkey’s most thoroughly modern and hip cities, second only to Istanbul in terms of cool. Most cruise travelers bypass the city itself, opting to spend their time on shore excursions to nearby sites such as Ephesus, Pergamum or Asclepion, but there are also a number of sites in Izmir worth exploring, especially for those with only a short amount of time. Chances are, however, that you’ll have at least a day to explore the wider area, and in this case there are a number of nearby sites far more interesting than what Izmir has to offer in terms of archeological remains. For shore excursions from Izmir, considering the following:
Selcuk/Ephesus
Selҫuk is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Turkey and one of the best shore excursions from Izmir. With its charming village atmosphere, excellent museum and proximity to Ephesus it is not hard to see why.
A short drive down the coast from Izmir, Selҫuk is a gateway for excursions to the surrounding region and offers a number of attraction in itself, including The House of the Virgin Mary (where Mary is claimed to have spent her final days), and the Isa Bey mosque, a superb example of Seljuk Turkish architecture.
Most people come to Selҫuk to see the spectacular ruins of Ephesus — one of the best preserved ancient Roman cities in the world. Once a commercial, religious and social center of the Roman empire in Asia, Ephesus is full of ancient architectural splendors, including the Fountains of Trojan, The Temples of Hadrian and Domition, the Library of Celsius and the Great Theatre.
Additionally, nestled in the hills a short ride from Selҫuk is Şirince village, well-known for its fruity wines, restored Ottoman-era homes and boutique hotels.
Pamukkale and Hierapolis
The town of Pamukkale, which literally means ‘cotton castle’, has been used as a spa since the second century BC, making it one of the oldest, continually visited tourist sites in Turkey.
The highlight here is the travertines, bizarre formation of calcium bathing pools that overlook the modern town nearby. They look sort of like frozen waterfalls and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The best way to experience these odd formation is to climb up them barefoot on your way to Hierapolis, the ancient Greco-Roman city atop the hill.
Hierapolis is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ancient city was where many Roman came to soothe their ailments, with many people coming to retire or die here. The ruins here are vast and a full day could easily be spent exploring them. One of the highlights is the Roman Bath, one of the biggest buildings in the ancient city, which houses an impressive Archaeology Museum.
Pamukkale and Hierapolis make for a long day from Izmir, but it is certainly worth it.
Pergamon and Asklepion
Pergamum, an ancient city whose history dates back to the 4th century BC, is another of the finest archaeological sites in Turkey. It is home to the second-largest library in the ancient world, one of the steepest theaters in the world (with a capacity of 10,000 people!), the monumental Altar of Zeus and the Roman Medical Center ruins of Asklepion, where the great physician Galen once lived and worked.
On the Acropolis, reachable by cable car, you’ll find the remains of the famous Library of Pergamon, which at its height contained some 200,000 books, the Theatre, the Temples of Trojan and Dionysos, the Altar of Zeus and the monumental tombs built for the kings of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period.
Nearby Asklepion, built in the name of Aesculapius, the god of Health and Medicine, contains a small theatre (capacity of 3,500) , rooms where the patients were cured by the sound of water and music, the temple of Asklepion, a library, a library and more.
Also worth a visit is the Archaeological Museum of Bergama, in which you’ll find many treasures from the above sites.