Metropolis Ancient City – Torbalı, İzmir
The ancient city of Metropolis lies on the slopes of a hill between the villages of Yeniköy and Özbey in the district of Torbalı, about 40–45 km southeast of İzmir and roughly 30 km from Ephesus. Overlooking the Kaystros (Küçük Menderes) River plain, the site controlled the routes linking the Aegean coast with the inland valleys, making it a strategic node between the Ionian coastal cities and the interior of western Anatolia.
(Source: Culture Portal of Türkiye – Metropolis Archaeological Site – İzmir
Izmir Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism – Metropolis (Torbalı))
The name Metropolis means “City of the Mother Goddess” and is linked to the local cult of Meter Gallesia (Metagallezya) on nearby Mount Gallesion. A cult cave and rock sanctuary at Uyuzdere have yielded numerous figurines and votive offerings dedicated to the Mother Goddess. While the earliest architectural and ceramic remains on the acropolis belong to the Late Geometric period, the city as a planned Hellenistic settlement with terraces, streets and monumental public buildings took shape in the 3rd century BC. Prehistoric settlement at the nearby site of Bademgediği Tepe goes back to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages; the area is thought to have been known as Puranda in Hittite sources.
(Source: Metropolis Excavations – History of the City
Izmir Metropolis Archaeological Site – Turkish Museums
Wikipedia – Metropolis (Anatolia))
Systematic archaeological work at Metropolis began in 1989 under Prof. Recep Meriç, initially focusing on the Mother-Goddess cave sanctuary at Uyuzdere in cooperation with the Ephesus Museum, and later expanding over the whole city. Since 2006, the project has been directed by Prof. Serdar Aybek. The excavations, supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums and the Sabancı Foundation, have continued without interruption, and in 2014 Metropolis was officially opened to visitors as an archaeological site.
(Source: Izmir Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism – Metropolis Excavation / Torbalı
Daily Sabah – Ancient city of Metropolis in Turkey’s Izmir ready for further excavation)
Visitors to Metropolis can today explore the Hellenistic theatre, later refurbished in marble during the Roman period with a capacity estimated between 4,000 and 8,000 spectators, as well as the bouleuterion (council house), stoas and mosaic halls, the Roman bath–palaestra complex, bath–gymnasium, stepped streets, cisterns, and the city walls and acropolis fortifications. Marble honorific seats decorated with griffin reliefs, together with statues of Asklepios and Hygieia, are among the city’s most distinctive finds and are exhibited in the Izmir Archaeological Museum. Recent excavations have also uncovered an 1,800-year-old Roman agora, believed to have been the main commercial center of the city, along with extensive water installations that illuminate the urban infrastructure of Metropolis.
(Source: Turkish Museums – Izmir Metropolis Archaeological Site
Daily Sabah – Archaeologists unearth cisterns at Izmir’s ancient Metropolis
Anatolian Archaeology – 1,800-Year-Old Roman Agora Unearthed in the Ancient City of Metropolis)