Clock Tower

The clock tower at Konak Square is Izmir's landmark today. It was built by architect Raymond Charles Pere in 1901 to commemorate 25th year of enthronement of Ottoman sultan Abdulhamit I. Architect Pere was born in 1854 in Izmir from a French Levantine family, keeping with the tradition among Levantines of the time to educate their children in Europe. After his education as an Architect in Europe he came back to Izmir and married with the daughter of another Levantine family and spent his entire life at this beautiful Aegean city until his death in 1929. The clock mechanism was a gift from German Kaiser Wilhelm II and never broken since over 100 years. The clock tower is 25 meters tall and consist of four levels on an octagonal plan. The north African style column capitals and the filling in of the horseshoe arches show the architectural character of the tower. There are fountains on four sides of the tower.