Before there was Izmir, there was Smyrna, an ancient Roman city on the Aegean coast of Anatolia (now Turkey).
Evidence of this fact in modern-day Izmir is most apparent upon visiting the ancient Agora Open Air Museum (also known as Izmir Agora or Smyrna Agora). Agora was the name for a “public gathering place or market” in ancient Greek city-states.
The Agora of Smyrna is one of the best preserved ancient agoras in the world today, in large part due to the excellent Agora Open Air Museum on site.
