Metropolis Antique City is located on a hill between Yeniköy and Özbey neighborhoods in the province of Izmir, Torbalı district. The city, which is included in the Ancient Ionia Region, is 30 km away from Ephesus and 40 km away from İzmir, and it has a dominant position in Küçük Menderes (Kaystros) basin.
Metropolis stands for “The City of the Mother Goddess”. The sacred cave, which functions as a cult place belonging to the Mother Goddess (better known as Kybele) named Μετηρ Δαλλησια (Meter Gallesia), is 5 km from the city. It is located in Uyuzdere Mevkii in the far north. Numerous terracotta Mother Goddess statuettes were found during archaeological excavations in the cave. Besides, the depictions of the Mother Goddess on city coins confirm this view.
The theater, bouleuterion (parliament structure), stoa (covered promenade), latrina (public toilet), bath-gymnasium complex, which have been inhabited since 1989 in the ancient city of Metropolis, which has been found to have been settled since the Early Bronze Age. Houses with atrium and peristyl (residential type with a columnar courtyard and pool), bath-palaestra complex (wrestling area) were uncovered and restoration work was completed in some of these structures.
During the archaeological excavations carried out in the acropolis of the city, some ceramic pieces belonging to the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age, stone axes and a contemporary seal with the Hittite Period were found here.
The settlement of the Hellenes was founded on the acropolis after the 9th century BC, but the city showed its original development in the 3rd century BC. Especially in the 2nd century BC, the city made great progress under the patronage of the Kingdom of Pergamon, and monumental structures such as theater, bouleuterion and stoa were built during this period. This period, during which an intense urbanization activity was observed, was followed by the Roman Empire Period. In the history scene, the name Metropolis started to be remembered in this period when it was with the Romans against the Aristonikos revolt. In this period, the rich houses were started to be built in the tradition of the Roman Empire.
In the Late Antiquity, Metropolis became a bishopric center, but a fortress was built for the city, which began to shrink due to wars and economic reasons. The city of Metropolis came under the administration of Aydınoğulları Principality since the region was taken over by the Aydınoğulları Principality as of the 14th century, but the city could not live in its old position any more and moved to Torbalı. The name Torbalı is the way the Metropolis name has been said and changed over the centuries and has survived to the present day. The region was named as “Kızılhisar” during the Ottoman Period.