Kadifekale (literally "the velvet castle" in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

) is a

hilltop castle A hilltop castle is a type of hill castle that was built on the summit of a hill or mountain. In the latter case it may be termed a mountaintop castle. The term is derived from the German, ''Gipfelburg'', which is one of a number of terms used ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The castle is located on the Mount Pagos (,

Pagus In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geograp ...

under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

) which has an elevation of 186 metres. It was built in the 3rd century BC. The castle is located at a distance of about 2 km from the shoreline and commands a general view of a large part of the city of İzmir, as well as of the

Gulf of İzmir The Gulf of İzmir (), formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the Karaburun Peninsula and the mainland area of Foça. It is in length by in breadth, with an excellent anchorage. The city of İz ...

. In 2007, the metropolitan municipality of İzmir started renovation and restoration works in Kadifekale. In 2020, Kadifekale became a Tentative World Heritage Site as part of "The Historical Port City of Izmir."

Re-foundation of Smyrna on Mount Pagos

The first recorded defensive walls built here was the work of

Lysimachos Lysimachus (; Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became king of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon. Early life and career Lysimachus was b ...

, a "successor" ( diadochus) of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

, later a king (306 BC) in

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

and

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. This construction was associated with Alexander's re-foundation of Smyrna, moving it from Old Smyrna on a mound in the southeastern corner of the inner gulf where only a few thousand people could be accommodated. This move for the location of a new and larger city gained fame in a legend told by Pausanias, according to which Alexander, during a rest after hunting under a

plane tree ''Platanus'' ( ) is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. The type ...

near the sanctuary on the hill of the two Nemeseis worshipped by the Smyrneans, was approached during his sleep by the goddesses who bade him found a city on that very spot, transferring to it the inhabitants of the earlier site. Upon this, the famous oracle in Klaros was consulted and the answer received was;

Three and four times happy shall those men be hereafter, who shall dwell on Pagus beyond the sacred Meles.

While Alexander could only act as inspirator and/or initiator for the move, the recent excavations in Old Smyrna have shown that the settlement there could have ceased even during his lifetime. The legend, in the meantime, was frequently depicted on ancient coins.

Tale of Two Cities

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

records that only a small part of Smyrna was located on the mound, with the greater part centered around the harbor on the flatlands below. The

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

and the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

on the other hand, were on the slopes immediately below the summit. The settlements on the hill and those near the coast had a separate history in certain periods, as it was the case during the 14th century, when the hill castle was captured by the

Aydinids The Aydinids or Aydinid dynasty ( Modern Turkish: ''Aydınoğulları'', ''Aydınoğulları Beyliği'', Old Anatolian Turkish: آیدین اوغوللاری بیلیغی, also known as the Principality of Aydin and Beylik of Aydin (), was one ...

, and the port city, with another castle, was held by the Genoese until its capture by

Tamerlane Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timuri ...

in 1403. During the 19th century, Kadifekale was part of the chain across several slopes which constituted İzmir's Turkish core, while the urban center below was the cosmopolitan part. The present walls are medieval. A number of sources put forth claims on having observed fragments of Hellenic masonry under the existing walls, but these fell short of having acquired general acceptance. The long hollow west of the castle marks the site of the Stadium, scene of the martyrdom of St. Polycarp, and it is now completely built over. This is also the case for the ancient theatre of Smyrna, which is located to the east of the castle gates, although there a few traces are still visible to the naked eye. Both works belong to a reconstruction following a calamitous earthquake in 178. Next to the castle are the ruins of the

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

s built during the Roman period and renovated during the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

and Ottoman periods. They formed the centre of the drinking water network of Smyrna. The remains of this network are still preserved in the

agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

of Smyrna in downtown İzmir.

Cultural activity

In 2015 the

Barış Youth Symphony Orchestra Barış Youth Symphony Orchestra (, literally: Peace Children Symphony Orchestra) is a youth orchestra founded at İzmir, Turkey in 2015. The orchestra has nearly one hundred members. Various classic music artists have joined the orchestra for it ...

was founded incorporating children with limited opportunities with the purpose to keep them away from crime on the street existing in the neighborhood. The orchestra, grown up to nearly one hundred members coming also from other neighbors of the city, gives concerts accompanied by notable classic music artists.

Gallery

Image:Izmir002.jpg, Cisterns Image:Gate of Kadifekale.jpg , Castle gate Image:Izmir004.jpg , Watch tower Image:Izmir005.jpg, Castle wall

Footnotes

Books

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External links

Images of Kadifekale
at wowturkey.com * {{İzmir Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd century BC Buildings and structures in İzmir Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Forts in Turkey Hill castles Konak District Tourist attractions in İzmir World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey Military history of İzmir