The excavations at Bayrakli have unearthed a temple dedicated to Athena and the wall of the Ionian city which flourished there between the seventh and fifth centuries B.C. Pottery dating back to the third millennium B.C. has also been uncovered. On Kadifekale (Mt. Pagos) stands the impressive ruins of a castle, built by Lysimachus in the reign of Alexander the Great, which still dominates Izmir today. The castle offers an excellent vantage point to enjoy a magnificent view of the Gulf of Izmir. The Agora, or marketplace, in the Namazgah Quarter was originally constructed during the rule of Alexander the Great. What remains today, however, dates from a rebuilding under Marcus Aurelius after a devastating earthquake in 178 A.D. The Sirinyer and Yesildere Aqueducts, two examples of Roman engineering spanning the Meles River, supplied Izmir's water throughout the Byzantine and Ottoman eras. The Saint Polycarp Church is the oldest church in Izmir and symbolizes the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse. Saint Polycarp was martyred at age 86 in A.D. 155 at Kadifkale by the Romans. According to tradition, when they tried to burn him at the stake the flames wouldn't touch him so they finally stabbed him to death. The church was reconstructed in 1620. The Kizlaragasi Han (inn), a fine example of 18th-century Ottoman architecture of the period, is being restored to its former glory. The symbol of Izmir, the Saat Kulesi, or Clock Tower, stands in the heart of the city at Konak Square. A gift from Sultan Abdulhamid, it was built in 1901 in an elaborately decorated late Ottoman style.
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