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 | The classical city of Metropolis is situated 45 km from Izmir and the Aegean coast overlooking the Torbali - Ödemis plain alongside the Izmir - Aydin motorway. In classical times the communication route was the Caystor river and Metropolis lay at the mid point between Smyrna and Ephesus. Lying beneath the classical city are neolithic and Bronze Age sites - and above the classical city is a Byzantine settlement and fort, also used during the Ottoman period. Metropolis has always been important, but it has not always been a city. The site has been excavated for the past 15 years by the Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir under the guidance of Professor Recep Meriç. From 2007 Dr Serdar Aybek from The University of Trakya has taken over leadership of the excavation. The University of Oslo, Museum of Cultural History is participating in the excavation- students from Oslo take part in the excavations each year. Dr Håkon Ingvalsden is working on the numismatic material from Metropolis, and as part of his doctoral thesis David Hill is building a GIS of the excavated archive and analyzing the role that Metropolis played within the landscape and the region from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine period. The excavation houseKasi Eviin Turkish is situated in the village of Yeniköy in the municipality of Torbali - The name Torbali itself is a corruption of Metropolis - which come from the GreekMatra - meaning mother andPolis meaning city. In a nearby cave a shrine dedicated to an Anatolian fertility cult has been found dating back to the Bronze Age. The worship of the cult of the mother goddess has been widely practiced throughout Anatolia from prehistory and into the classical period. In all probability Metropolis has been named after the shrine, and as such is - The City of the Mother Goddess.
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Prehistoric Metropolis The Bronze Age Ionian Metropolis The Hellenistic Revival The Roman City The Byzantine period The Ottoman Period Metropolis today | Sculpture from Metropolis Coins from Metropolis Finds and objects GIS Maps and Plans People
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