Metropolis is a city of the Mother Goddess in Ionia. The classical city of Metropolis is situated 45 km from Izmir and the Aegean coast overlooking the Torbalı plain alongside the İzmir - Aydın motorway. In classical times the communication route was the Cayster River (Küçük Menderes) and Metropolis lay at the mid point between Smyrna and Ephesus. Lying beneath the classical city are Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements - and above the classical city is a Byzantine settlement and fort, also used during the Ottoman period. Metropolis lived its golden era during the Late Hellenistic Period. Altars were erected in honour of Emperor Augustus during Roman Imperial Period. It became a bishopric in the Age of Byzantine Empire. Its people governed the city from its acropolis, worshipped gods, wandered and shopped in its stoa, decided on city in bouleuterion, enjoyed plays in its theatre. Now archaeologists are excavating where Metropolis once built, tracking past civilizations authoring the story of humanity reaching our days from centuries ago. The site has been excavated for the past 18 years by the Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir under the guidance of Professor Recep Meriç. From 2007 Dr Serdar Aybek from The University of Trakya has taken over leadership of the excavation.
