Arches & Columns of an Ancient Marketplace

Agora (West Stoa; Hellenistic Period) - İzmİr, Turkey (APRIL 2010)

[click here for the words]

Agora — a Gathering Place and a Market of Yesteryear

Tuesday — April 27: Part II

With a vague idea of its location, I set off to find the Agora — the marketplace of ancient Smyrna.  Walking down Fevzi Paşa Bulvarı, I took a right onto Gazi Osman Paşa Bulvarı, asked for directions from a helpful shopkeeper, and before I knew it, I was showing my MüzeKart to the attendant at the entrance to the ruins.  (Entrance fee for non-card holders is 3TL, or about $2.)

Legend has it that Smyrna (now İzmir) was founded after Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, dreamt that he was to build a city near Old Smyrna.  Hearing of his dream, the people of Old Smyrna went to the oracles to see if the gods indeed wanted a new city built.  Apollo was consulted and he deemed that “those who settle on Mount Pagos [Kadifekale] beyond the Sacred Meles will be four times times happier than before.” And so, at the end of the 4th Century BC, a new city was born.

Plan of Smyrna
(at one time, you could see the current city grid laid out beneath the plan)

As was usual with most coastal cities of the Hellenistic Period, Smyrna had two agoras.  One was located near the harbor and served as a trade center.  The second one was near the city center and had a more official function.  It was the latter that I visited today.  The brochure I received from the attendant describes the Agora as follows:

… The Agora served as the administrative, political, judicial and commercial center for the city.  The gradient of the terrain where the Agora was built was eliminated with basements constructed on the west and north. … The Agora area was transformed into an elevated terrace filled up to the upper level of the basements.  The courtyard was surrounded by porticos.  The Agora functioned as a cemetery during the Byzantine and Ottoman Periods after the Late Ancient Age.  The existing ruins and probing [dig] activities indicate that the Agora was first used in the Hellenistic Period after the eastern campaign of Alexander the Great.

Plan of the Agora

It was a quiet day at the Agora.  A few school groups showed up, but they didn’t stay long, so I had the place to myself most of the time.  Unfortunately, most of the ruins were closed off today.  Oh well; it is an active archaeological dig after all.  I made do with what was available for exploration.

Looking down the West Stoa.

Gate of Faustina and the West Stoa.
(the original gate was double-arched)

This bust of Faustina, wife of Marcus Aurelius, honors her efforts to restore the Agora,
which was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 178 AD.

Artist's rendering of the West Stoa and the double-arched gate.

Columns of the West Stoa.

Exploring the basement of the West Stoa.

Glimpse of the columns from the basement of the West Stoa.

When the Agora was restored after the earthquake of 178 AD,
these arches were added to strengthen the building.

Ahh! Yes; I have a table-top tripod with me!

An archaeological dig is like a puzzle waiting for its pieces to be put together.

During the Ottoman Period, a cemetery was established upon the ruins of the Agora.

Ottoman era headstones.

From the Agora I headed home, taking the long way back by walking to Basmane and then cutting through Kültür Park (the fairgrounds).  In hindsight, I should have just jumped in a cab and gone straight home as my right foot was in considerable pain at this point.  Sightseeing trumped common sense and I’m paying for it now.  Might as well share a few photos from the Basmane Garı (Basmane Train Terminal) since I made the effort to go there.

The Basmane Train Terminal was built in 1876 by the Smyrna Cassaba Railway,
which operated rail service in Western Anatolia from 1863 to 1934.
(sorry about the vehicles; the traffic just wouldn’t let up)

At this time of the day, the waiting area is nearly deserted.

These modern trains are quite a change from the coal-fueled ones I rode as a kid.

   One of several entrances to the fairgrounds, the 9 Eylül (9 September) gate commemorates
the city’s liberation from foreign occupation in 1922.

Here’s the silver lining to taking the long way back home.  As I was passing by the History & Art Museum in Kültür Park, I recalled that some of the artifacts excavated from the Agora were on display there.  No; I didn’t stop to check the premises, but I did check my online gallery when I got home, and there was the photograph of …

Poseidon & Demeter — Antonine Period
(thought to be from the altar dedicated to Zeus that once stood in the courtyard of the Agora)

There are quite a few more places I had hoped to visit on this trip to İzmir, but I’ve run out of time.  They’ll just have to wait until next time.  Tomorrow, I pack for the trip back home; and it’s probably a good idea if I rest my foot, too.

Next Up: All Good Trips Must Come to an End