Cemeteries of İzmir Jews

The Jews, whose have an important place in the history of Izmir, have been living in Izmir and the surrounding settlements for centuries.After the Spanish immigration in 1492, the Jews who settled in Izmir caused an increase in the Izmir population. In the following years, Izmir Jews, whose population has increased, have identified cemetery areas for themselves. The possibility of Bahribaba cemetery being the first Jewish cemetery of Izmir still continues today. In the light of the researches we know that Bahribaba, Gürçeşme, Bornova, Bergama and Tire Cemeteries were formerly used by the Jews of İzmir. The tombstones in these cemeteries provide us with important information about the Jews of Izmir. As a result of the reading of Hebrew tombstones, it was found that besides the language and technique used, the tombstones contain important information that would lead us to get to know Izmir Jews closely, such as names, surnames, professions, age of death, years of death, gender and marital status. In addition to the information obtained from the tombstones, the investigations about the burial traditions of the Jews of Izmir are important in terms of giving information about the Jewish afterlife beliefs, pre-and post-burial traditions, and mourning processes. Keywords: Izmir Jews, Izmir Jewish Cemeteries, Burial Customs of Izmir Jews.