Architecture and Smyrna Today

Photo Album 6

The unique Architectural beauty of Smyrna was displayed in every single building of the city, especially in the public buildings, mainly situated across the central road viewing the port. 

    After the entrance of the Kemalic Army on September 8, 1922 and the destructive fire, most of architectural masterpieces were burned and looted. The Turkish Army not only butchered and shamed the local population, but also burned every corner of Smyrna that could remind them the "unfaithful city". The only place of the fire didn't reach was the Turkish quarter. Among the unique buildings that totally collapsed were the famous Metropolitan Temple of St. Fotini (with its glorious steeple) and the fabulous church of St. George. Today, none Christian monument exists...  

Nowadays, modern Smyrna (= Izmir in Turkish) is a quite new, densely populated city of more than 3.500.000 citizens, with a tiny unofficial community of Christians and Jews. It is the third biggest city and the second biggest port of Turkey. Smyrna's modern buildings have nothing special to display apart for their neutral architectural design of the '60 and '70. Most of them are apartments buildings, extemporaneously constructed with no balconies and gardens. Of course, the city has extensively spread out beyond the limits of the old city of 1922. The old quay has been significantly expanded towards the sea and in some parts other buildings have been built in front of the old shoreline houses. Unfortunately, apart for the city's modern infrastructure (mainly seen on the civil roads that lead to the city (e.g. highway of Smyrna - Tsesme) and some other basic public facilities (e.g. parks), the new suburbs of Smyrna have no specific urban development plan. Most of them are peremptory, with shadowy structural provision for earthquakes and the most important with no respect to the old city.            

This Photo Album aims at displaying the old buildings of the city as they are today. The issue of their renovation and maintenance remains one of the biggest problems for our global heritage as the Turkish Government does nothing to protect them or bring them forth. Their majority is falling apart or they are being demolished to be replaced by new modern-ones. Although some of the houses had been officially characterized as "landmarks", the Turkish Ministry of Culture or the City Hall authorities of Smyrna seem to "ignore" their cultural importance. Moreover, by prohibiting their purchase from foreigners or by imposing a compulsory expropriation to their prior proprietors (if they don't own the Turkish nationality) it prolongs their depreciation until they totally collapse. That way the legacy of the old city will be deleted, completing what the fire of 1922 has started. Hoping that a modern Turkey claiming its entrance to the European family will preserve the city's old brightness, finally the State authorities will undertake an initiative to restore the remaining Greek mansions. This will also be a real proof against all those Greek fundamentalists claiming that Turkey does everything possible to erase the memory that this city was once the cradle of the Ionian civilization for millennia. However, some of these derelicts, stand still high to highlight their profound architecture of the brilliant past of Smyrna.         

No:	Thumbnail:	Size:	Description:
1		1200x1600  (2 pictures)	The house near the Greek Consulate at the old quay of Smyrna. Its crevasses and abundance proclaim its future...
2		1200x1600	Derelicts across the seaside of the old quay. The beauty of silence...
3		1200x1600	Cheapening and abasing... A step before demolition
4		480x640	Cement and dust instead of art and lights...
5		1200x1600	Phantoms from the past... A house - a piece of art - looted and burned.
6		1200x1600	At the inner part of the city... View of a Greek district with residences that escaped from conflagration.
7		1200x1600	Detail from an old Greek house. The front-door is carved with the coat of arms of the Greek Royal Family.
8		1600x1200	An old Greek district at the inner part of the city.
9		480x640	Lost, rusty and forgotten. An easy way to complete the destruction.
10		1200x1600  (2 pictures)	A masterpiece at the old quay. Their unique architectural design commemorates the prosperity of the Golden era...
11		1200x1600	The cost of relinquishment
12		1600x1200	Staying alive. An effort for revamping
13		1600x1200	Admiration and modesty for the delicacy of our forefathers...
14		1600x1200	An old Greek district of residences changed into cafes, breweries and restaurants.
15		640x480	The modern notion of art and advancement
16		640x480	Remains of an Armenian district...
17		1200x1600	Restructure... A fluff mixture of an old building with a new one.
18		1606x1093	A magnificent sample of a unique mansion in the superb of Smyrna - 1920.
19		1606x1093	A street in Smyrna around 1920. On the right is viewed the building of Bank of Athens.
20		1606x1093	View of the quay of Smyrna from a ship after the destructive fire. The ashes of a brilliant city...
21		513x318 & 542x388	Main view of the quay. The European section of Smyrna's quay.
22		385x304	The internal hall of the Theatre of Smyrna in 1917. First performance of the Opera of "Rigoletto".
23		426x667	The facade of Smyrna's new Theatre before its destruction.
24		420x563	The facade of old Theatre of Smyrna.
25		475x689	A traditional Greek house at Cordelio (suburb of Smyrna).
26		428x365	The building of the Hunter's Club of Smyrna.
27		496x610	Partial view of the church of Saint George.
28		527x406	The building of Armenian Archdiocese in Smyrna.
29		600x465	Smyrna during '20: America's Consulate Square
30		500x622	The building of the Greek University of Smyrna.  (History is included)
31		518x578	The building of the National Bank of Greece in Smyrna.
32		496x671	The famous belfry of St. Fotini (Cathedral of Smyrna).
33		538x390	The famous Evangelical School of Smyrna (Greek college).
34		539x363	The Greek Hospital of Smyrna burnt down.

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