This is Izmir - Turkey 2022 - Travelsofmozzy

Here are 5 interesting information about Izmir city:

1. The Clock Tower in Konak is the most important symbol of Izmir but not the oldest clock tower in the city. Alsancak Station Clock Tower is the oldest of the four clock towers you can find in Izmir. There is the phrase “London 1890” on the tower built by the British. Konak Clock Tower was built to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Abdulhamid II’s ascension to the throne in 1901.

2. One of the three quarantine islands in the world is in Urla. Klazomen Quarantine House, or Karantina Island, as it is known today, is one of the three registered quarantine islands that have survived in the world. Island is located next to the ancient city of Klazomenai. Facilities on the island were built in 1865 by the French, and they were actively used until 1950. Road to the island was built in 1950. However, right next to this road, in the sea, you can see the marble road built during the period of Alexander the Great in the 6th century BC.

3. Many famous philosophers lived in Izmir. Homer of Smyrna, one of the most important philosophers of antiquity, the author of important epics such as the Iliad and Odyssey which are considered to be the first great works of Western literature; Famous philosopher and poet Xenophobes, one of the pre-Socratic thinkers; Heraclitus of Ephesus, who has the famous saying “You cannot wash in the same river twice”; Another important thinker of the pre-Socratic era, Anaxagoras, and known as the founder of experimental physiology and the world’s first sports physician, “Father of Physicians”, Galen of Pergamon spent big parts of their life in Izmir.

4. One of the seven wonders of the world was in Izmir. The Temple of Artemis in the Ancient City of Ephesus was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient times. Built by the Lydian King Croesus in dedication to the goddess Artemis and built in 12 years. The building was designed by the Greek architect Chersiphron. The Temple of Artemis, which was decorated with bronze sculptures bearing the signatures of the greatest sculptors of the period, Pheidias, Polycleitus, Kresilas and Phradmon, and an art monument with its magnificent appearance, unfortunately did not survive to our day.

5. The world’s oldest olive oil factory is in Izmir. During the excavations carried out in Klozemenai, whose history goes uninterruptedly up to 6,000 years ago, the oldest known olive oil workshop in the world, which was actively working 2,600 years ago, was found. Indicating a high level of prosperity in the 6th century BC. With the work carried out in 2004-2005, the same workshop in the ancient period was rebuilt and olive oil was started to be produced. You can buy delicious olive oils here.