Smyrna Theater to become second Ephesus of İzmir
IZMIR
Excavations have resumed at the 20,000-person Smyrna Theater, located on the outskirts of Kadifekale in the western province of İzmir's Konak district.
Once the excavations are complete, the ancient theater is expected to draw significant interest similar to that of the city's ancient Ephesus, said Professor Akın Ersoy, the head of the excavations. "The Smyrna Theater is set to become the second largest theater in İzmir, alongside Ephesus. This presents a valuable opportunity for İzmir," he added.
Excavations at the Smyrna Theater, located on the hillside between Kadifekale and Smyrna Agora and overlooking the Gulf of İzmir, were initiated in 2016 on behalf of İzmir Katip Çelebi University. The work is advancing within the allocated budget, though there have been occasional pauses.
The stage building, seating steps and various other areas have come to light during the excavations at Smyrna Theater, which dates back to the 2nd century B.C. and ranks among the largest theaters of the ancient period.
Stating that this is a theater with a capacity of 20,000 people and it is possible to see its equivalent in the Ephesus Theater, Ersoy drew attention to the importance of the Smyrna Theater.
“The number of archaeological sites in İzmir is limited. The best-known among them is the Smyrna Agora. It would not be enough to represent Smyrna, one of the largest cities of the ancient period, only with the Smyrna Agora. Therefore, these works in the Smyrna Theater are valuable in terms of expressing the size of the ancient city. I believe the theater is one of the important places as it will also help urban transformation in this area,” he said.
Stating that they have uncovered the theater's stage building at ground floor level and identified a basement beneath it, Akın said, “We haven't started excavations in that section yet. However, we are working to uncover the first-stage seating unit. Currently, we are revealing the theater's orchestra. We continue our work to integrate the stage building, orchestra, and seating areas. It may sound incredible that this theater, with a capacity of 20,000, is equivalent to the Ephesus Theater."
Ersoy stated that tour routes should be created and emphasized that the ancient theater represents a significant opportunity for İzmir.
“Between the end of the 4th century B.C. and the beginning of the 3rd century B.C., both Ephesus and Smyrna cities were reestablished in their current locations. We can say from the findings that the Smyrna Theater was used from the 3rd century B.C. to the end of the 4th century A.D. We are currently working to unearth one of the largest theaters of the ancient period. This will be the second-largest ancient theater of İzmir along with Ephesus," Ersoy said.
"İzmir has been an important port city since ancient times with its port and this feature will be boosted with this theater. Today, cruise ships come to the port and the passengers visit Ephesus, Pergamon and the city center. I believe that once the Smyrna Theater is fully uncovered, effective organization could encourage visitors to spend more time in İzmir. We should start working as early as possible to create routes and accelerate excavation efforts to make the theater visible on these routes. It is possible to complete the archaeological excavations in the theater within a few years but we need funding to achieve this,” he added.
