Project facts
Presentation
Conservation and Development of City Values Association of Izmir thanks to the innovative heritage tools developed by the CITY-IZ.
As a result of the re-functioning of the registered building, which is located within the boundaries of the Smyrna Agora ruins and dated to the second half of the 19th century, the Experience Center was built by the by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism with the financial support of the European Union within the framework of the “Common Cultural Heritage: Conservation and Dialogue Between Turkey and the EU-II” program. The re-functioning of the south wing of the registered building as the ‘Smyrna Agora Experience Center’ was completed as a result of the union of forces between the CITY-IZ Association, Smyrna Ancient City Excavation Directorate, Izmir Governor’s Office, Izmir Provincial Culture and Tourism Directorate, Izmir Museum Directorate.
Impacts & Results
The Project Has Crucial Outputs
The project, which lasted for 15 months with an investment of approximately 2.5 million TL, was realized with international partners. The project includes various activities as well as very important outputs that will continue to serve after the project. Within the scope of the project, the following items were created in Turkish, English, Italian and Greek;
- Smyrna Agora Virtual Reality (VR)
- Mobile Application (Game and AR Content)
- Board Game and Excavation Set
- Roman Period 3D Model
- Documentary
- Web site
- Digital Panel
- Souvenirs
- Logo and Corporate Identity Work
- Illustrative Map
- Brochure
- Cultural Heritage Trainings
- Photo Shooting Area
- Motion Graphics
The opening event, which took place on June 23, 2022, was attended by Izmir Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Murat Karacanta, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality City History and Promotion Department Head Mihriban Yanık, T.R. Experts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Department of European Union and Foreign Relations, Smyrna Ancient City Excavation Director Assoc. Dr. Akın Ersoy, Ephesus Museum Director Cengiz Topal and representatives of various institutions working in the field of cultural heritage. Speaking at the opening program, Sedef Özer, Secretary General of the CITY-IZ Association, said, “When we look at world examples, we see that many innovative tools are used to promote archaeological and cultural heritage sites and convey their values and qualities to visitors. With this project, we have developed set of tools to increase the national and international recognition of the Smyrna Agora, the number of visitors and the visitor experience.” She concluded by adding that the project, which was started in April 2021, has come to an end as of June 2022.
Izmir Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Murat Karacanta opened his, “There is a good synergy in Izmir. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Izmir Governorship, professional chambers and non-governmental organizations work together. In this way, I believe that we will lead İzmir to success.”
The project combines archaeology, craftsmanship, culture, design and technology
Among the partners of the “Cultural Heritage Lives” project, which aims to promote the Agora of Smyrna by developing international cooperation, are the University of Catania and Santagata Foundation from Italy, and the Egaleo Asian Minor Association from Greece. The CITY-IZ Association has developed many innovative tools for visitors to discover the past of the Agora of Smyrna. Among these 21-st century tools are; a Roman Period model and a digital kiosk as a part of this project, a virtual reality (VR) application with five different user interactive scenarios, augmented reality (AR) supported ‘Agora of Smyrna’ mobile application with audio guide in four languages, a board game developed for children, a documentary film, a souvenir kiosk, an illustrative map and a brochure in four languages.
The metaverse content of the Agora of Smyrna, which reflects the life style in the Roman period, met with its visitors for the first time on the day of the event. Visitors who experienced the digital environment with the virtual reality (VR) application stated that they witnessed a reality about the space that they could not imagine before, and that this experience contributed significantly to imagining the space as a whole. With this output, the project constitutes an important step that İzmir has taken to the new world in the international arena. In this context, the CITY-IZ Association is making a new start in the virtual universe for its future projects.