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Ancient Smyrna in Izmir: Ruins, Parking and Bible History

On our road trip through the cities of the seven congregations of Revelation, we stopped at ancient Smyrna, now part of modern Izmir. Most of the ancient city lies beneath the modern one, but the excavated ruins were still worth seeing. These are our photographs and practical notes from the visit.

We had just come from Ephesus, so our expectations were high. Smyrna is a smaller stop: we spent about an hour exploring it. The hardest part for us was driving through central Izmir and finding somewhere to park, so I’ve included the garage we used near the entrance.

Where are the ruins of ancient Smyrna?

The ruins are in the heart of modern Izmir. Nearly all of ancient Smyrna has a modern city built over it, so we saw only a small excavated section. We found that section beautiful. See the location on Google Maps.

Excavated ruins of ancient Smyrna in central Izmir, Turkey
The ruins of Smyrna are right in the middle of the city of Izmir, Turkey

The hardest part of our visit was navigating downtown traffic and finding a parking space. We used a garage beside the entrance. We found it worth the cost.

We visited in 2020. Check current opening hours, admission and parking prices before you go.

Smyrna and nearby ancient cities

The map below helps place Smyrna among other ancient cities. The distances are approximate and should not be treated as ancient walking routes or modern driving directions.

Map showing Smyrna and nearby ancient cities in western Turkey

Smyrna to:
  • Ephesus — 49 miles (about 79 km)
  • Pergamum — 69 miles (about 111 km)
  • Thyatira — 55 miles (about 89 km)
  • Sardis — 55 miles (about 89 km)
  • Philadelphia — 85 miles (about 137 km)
  • Laodicea — 151 miles (about 243 km)
  • Colossae — 154 miles (about 248 km)

A more detailed map can be found on Wikipedia here.

What we saw at the ruins

Much of what we saw lay below street level. We descended a staircase to see long passages with archways.

Arched passage in the excavated ruins of Smyrna


Ancient stone arches at the Smyrna archaeological site
Dogs cooling themselves in the small waterway running the length of streets.

These passages were below street level. Here are a few photographs looking down from above.

View down into the excavated streets of ancient Smyrna


Stone passage beneath street level at ancient Smyrna


It’s not possible to pinpoint ruins that connect to the Bible. This might be possible if more excavation happens in the future.

We spent about an hour here and felt satisfied.

If you are exploring the cities mentioned in Revelation, you may also enjoy our guides to Ephesus and its Bible connections and ancient Philadelphia in modern Alaşehir. For a wider overview, see our Bible History Travel page.

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