İzmir Clock Tower () is a historic

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

located at the

Konak Square Konak Square () is a busy square at the southern end of Atatürk Avenue in the Konak district of İzmir, Turkey. The square is named after the '' Vali Konağı'' (Governor's Mansion) of İzmir Province, which is located here ('' konak'' means ' ...

in the Konak district of

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It is considered as the main landmark of the city.

History

Kâmil Pasha, the then-Governor of

Aidin Vilayet The Vilayet of Aidin or Aydin (, ) also known as Vilayet of Smyrna or İzmir after its administrative centre, was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire in the south-west of Asia Minor, including the ancient regi ...

, held a meeting with the prominent people of

on 1 August 1900. It was decided a

to be built in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

's accession to the throne. The clock tower was designed by the Levantine French architect Raymond Charles Péré. The groundbreaking ceremony of the construction was held on 1 September 1900. The tower was completed in August 1901 and officially inaugurated on 1 September 1901, the 25th anniversary of the sultan's accession to the throne. The top of the tower was destroyed in a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on 31 March 1928 and again in a magnitude 5.2 earthquake on 1 February 1974. During the protests against the

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt In the evening of 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted ...

, the clock of the tower was stolen. The tower underwent restoration in 2019.

Architecture

The tower, which has an iron and lead skeleton, is high and features four

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

s (şadırvan), which are placed around the base in a circular pattern. The ground area of the tower is The tower has an octagonal plan and four floors. It was made of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

and

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

. The tower has four clocks with a diameter of 75 cm. There is a bell on the fourth floor which is carried by twelve columns. There were

tughra A tughra (; ) is a calligraphy, calligraphic monogram, Seal (emblem), seal or signature of a sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. Inspired by the Tamga, tamgha, it was also carved on his seal and stamped on the co ...

s and Ottoman coats of arms on four sides of the tower. After the proclamation of the republic, they were engraved and replaced with stars and crescents.

Depictions

The clock tower was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 500

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...

banknotes of 1983–1989. It is also featured on the emblem of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. A 1:25

scale model A scale model is a physical model that is geometrically similar to an object (known as the ''prototype''). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small protot ...

of the tower is on display in Miniatürk.

Gallery

File:İzmir Saat Kulesi 2017 Akşam 2.jpg, Night-time view of the tower (2017) File:İzmir Clock Tower restoration 02.jpg, Renovation of the tower (2019) File:Izmir Saat Kulesi Çeşme.jpg, One of the fountains in the tower File:500 TL reverse.jpg, Reverse of the 500 lira banknote (1983–1989)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Izmir Clock Tower

Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

Clock towers in Turkey Ottoman architecture in Izmir Tourist attractions in İzmir Landmarks in Turkey Towers completed in 1901 Konak District Ottoman clock towers