History of Çeşme Museum

One of the historical and cultural values of Çeşme District worth seeing is the Çeşme Fort. Çeşme Fort has been constructed in 1508, during the period of Beyazıt II. It was constructed by Aydın Governor Mir Haydar to Architect Ahmet oğlu Mehmet.

Çeşme Archaeology museum is located in the fort, which reached today being preserved in a very good way. Çeşme museum has been opened to the public for the first time in 1965 as a gun museum with the guns brought from İstanbul Topkapı Museum and continued its function in this way until 1984. Since the guns in the museum have been oxidized and begun to deform due to the excess humidity in the hall, they have been transferred to İzmir Archaeology and Ödemiş Museums. The same exhibition hall has been arranged and used for the exhibition of the works obtained from the rescue excavations made in Ildırı (Erythrai) archaic city, which have been continuing since 1964. God and goddess sculptures made of cooked earth, busts, marble sculptures, silver and bronze coins, golden frames, amphora are being exhibited.

Most important of the visible ruins in Ildırı (Erythrai) is the city walls. Besides this, acropolis and the theatre in north of it and the villa buildings found in the excavations made in the north of the acropolis, Athena temple belonging to the Archaic Period, the church constructed in Byzantine period, Roman villa and mosaics at the location called as Cennettepe, the bath building constructed in Late - Roman - Byzantine Period can be seen.

The visitors can visit the military and civil buildings found as the result of the excavations and researches carried out in Ildırı (Erythrai) archaic city, against no charge.