Kadifekale or "Velvet Fortress", according to the legend was built after Alexander the Great, who defeated the Persians in 334 B.C., moved on to Ephesus and reached Izmir, where he received a divine order demanding to him rebuild the city of Smyrna (Izmir) in Kadifekale.

Agora is an ancient market place located in the district known as Narnazgah or Tilkilik on the skirts of Kadifekale. Constructed during the rule of Alexander the Great, the Agora is today mostly in ruins. Agora was devastated for many times by earthquakes and rebuilt several times. The last was in 178 A.D. by the wife of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Faustina.

The agora was a meeting place for commercial, political, and religious activities for the local people. It was surrounded mostly by state buildings on a rectangular plan with a large central courtyard and a covered stoa around it. During the excavations northern and western stoas have been discovered including their basements, and a large 165 x 28 m basilica has been found on the northern stoa. One of the main streets of Smyrna city was cutting through the agora dividing it in two equal parts, and there were entrance gates at both ends. The excavation works are still ongoing at the agora for the basilica and a part of the eastern stoa. The agora once had a large altar dedicated to Zeus in the center. The altar is now gone, but statues of Poseidon and of Demeter believed to have come from the altar are on display in the Archaeological Museum.

There are visible at the site are various capitals, remnants of three of the four main gates, some recognizable stalls, architectural fragments bearing medieval coats of arms and a stone slab that may have been used as a gaming board.

Ethnography Museum  of  Izmir is a beautiful mansion built a Neoclassical style of the early 19th century. After having been recovered of Department of Public Health and restored from 1985 and 1988, it was designated to be a museum featuring the Turkish folklore. The building contains three floors above the ground floor, each one featuring different collections.

The First Floor has three sections. In the first one are exhibit manual works, bathing suits and the living rooms of the 19th century. In the second one there are examples of ancient ovens, wooden works and first Turkish pharmacy. The third one features the Menemen pots of its bazaar, camel wrestling folk plays and the Efe (swash buckling village dandy of Southwestern Anatolia). In the interior parts objects and manual works are exhited.

In the Second Floor are exhibit first century’s bridal veils, ornament properties of women; wedding gowns, a brides room, a cicumcision room (Islamic law for boys), a living room, kitchen utensils, calligraphic book, Ottoman coins and writing tools are displayed in the second section. In the third section war tools such as arrows of the Ottoman period, bows, rifles, guns, javelins, armor-clads, bayonets and generally Agean Carpets, small carpets, carpeting tools, bags, saddle bags are exhibited.

The tower was built in 1091 to commemorate the 25th year anniversary of the coronation of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamit II. Its construction was in charge of the architect Raymond Charles Pere. The clock tower is 25 meters high and consists of four levels on an octagonal plan and decorated in an elaborate late Ottoman style. There are fountains on four sides of the tower. The clock itself was a gift of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany.

The Archaeological Museum of Izmir (Arkeoloji Müzesi) close to Konak Square, exhibits an impressive collection of ancient and Roman artifacts recovered from area excavations, including Bergama, Iasos, Bayrakli, and Agora.