The original Smyrna
The oldest settlement of the İzmir area was around Yeşilören, near Bornova. After that a walled town seems to have been established c. 6000 BC on a peninsula at the foot of Yamanlar Dağı (Mt Sipylos) at Tepekule in what is now the suburb of Bayraklı, easily accessible on the İzban. Come here to see the “earliest presently known stone fountain of western civilisation” and to admire the reconstructed columns of the ancient Temple of Athena. There are more remains from the Ionian period here than on the sites of any of the other towns that once made up the Panionian League.
Archaeologists believe that Smyrna was originally settled by Aeolians in c.1050 BC and then captured from them by Ionian invaders. Interestingly, the most conspicuous survival from that time is Tepekule (“Hill Tower”) itself, which turns out to be an artificial mound probably created in the seventh century by the Lydian king Alyattes to help him capture and destroy the town.
When I visited in 2015 the site was not officially open to visitors. Hopefully it is now.Fountain, last quarter of 7th century BC
Transport info
Take the İzban from Basmane or Konak to Bayraklı, leave the station and turn left along the pedestrianised shopping street. At the end turn right and walk around the base of the mound to find the site entrance.
Read more about my visit to Tepekule: http://www.turkeyfromtheinside.com/index.php?option=com_easyblog&view=entry&id=25&Itemid=218
