Return to the centre
Izmir, the ancient yet ever-evolving “Pearl of the Aegean”, is re-establishing itself as an essential destination on the international travel circuit. here, how best to spend a long weekend in the Turkish city. By Alex Crevar. Photographs by Maria Mavropoulou
For much of its history, Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, was arguably the centre of the world. Halfway down the Aegean coast, Smyrna, as Asia Minor ancients called it, was where East met West as an economic and cultural synapse at the end of the Silk Road. Today, the vibrant, 8,500-year-old “Pearl of the Aegean” — flanked to the north and south by the UNESCO World Heritage city ruins of Pergamon and Ephesus, among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — has again redefined itself as a hub for international explorers. The 2,400-year-old bazaar and the ancient Agora remain Izmir’s chief attractions. But the city, which played a key role in Turkey’s independence 100 years ago, has also reopened a former tobacco factory as a culture and art complex and opened a 480-kilometre, sea-hugging section of the EuroVelo 8 cycle route.
Friday
3:30pm: Elevate your position
Start from a bird’s-eye vantage of Izmir with a ride up the Historical Lift (free). The lift — once steam-powered, now electric — was built in 1907 to connect lower districts to hilltop neighbourhoods, which are separated by 58 metres of elevation. The tower-top terrace provides panoramic views of the coast, the ferries traversing Izmir Bay and neighbourhoods influenced across epochs by Hittites, Greeks, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Ottomans and Sephardic Jews. More recently, this port city on the western shore of Anatolia includes a mix of immigrant communities including Italians, Armenians and French. Settle into the historical vista at the terrace’s Tarihi Asansor Cafe with a cup of stove-brewed Turkish coffee or traditional tea (both cost 40 Turkish liras, or about $1.80).
4:30pm: Walk the walk
Come down to Izmir’s three-kilometre shoreline promenade known as Kordon, where university students play music on surrounding grassy quads, families picnic, fishermen cast into the bay and vendors hawk mussels, nuts and fruit. A bike lane, part of a 48-kilometre path, runs along the walkway. Saunter to Ataturk Square, or, more colloquially, Konak Square. The octagonal, 25-metre clock tower at the plaza’s centre, built in 1901, has ornate Ottoman motifs spread across its four levels of carved marble, fountains and columns. The mechanical clock, a gift from the last German emperor, Wilhelm II, is still reset manually every sixth day. On the square’s sea side, the First Bullet Monument depicts the first shot fired in Izmir during the Turkish War of Independence in 1919. Across the square, the tiny, 18th-century Yali Mosque is adorned with exquisitely painted tiles.
6pm: Appreciate change
Izmir’s constant is change. The city weaves disparate eras, styles and architecture: ancient ruins meld with Ottoman, neo-Romanesque and Art Nouveau architecture and glass-and-steel constructions. The other consistent theme is the image of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on buildings, flags and signs. The country’s founder, in 1923, he espoused secularism and is a hero to the Izmirli people, who are stereotypically more progressive than the rest of Turkey. Stop at the Izmir Ataturk Museum (free), in a 19th-century neoclassical house Ataturk used when in Izmir, to glimpse photos, his living space and clothing, and to learn how he helped shape the nascent country. Then amble along Kordon to the patio at Sirena, an open-air locals bar since 1976. Order a half-litre mug of Turkish Efes beer (120 lira) and watch the sun disappear into the Aegean.
9pm: Embrace the sea
The artful preparation of food, especially seafood, anchors Izmir’s social life. Over the past four decades, no spot has mastered this art like Deniz Restaurant (“deniz” means sea). After diners take their seats on the sea-facing terrace, a waiter will present a tray of mezes, or appetisers (typically vegetable- and yoghurt-based), to be paired with wine, beer or raki (pronounced rah-kuh), a liqueur of grapes and aniseed. People from Izmir often don’t consult menus, preferring to let waiters guide the experience. Try the fava beans with red onions and dill, wedges of grilled local cheese, grilled eggplant with yoghurt, and shrimp wrapped in kataifi (crunchy, shredded phyllo dough). Then, savour the sea bass sauteed in light cream before a bowl of melon and strawberries appears with the coup de grace: house-made baklava. Dinner for two costs around 4,000 lira.
Saturday
10am: Breakfast at the bazaar
For much of its 24-century existence, the Kemeralti Bazaar was the beating heart of Izmir, a key western port on the Silk Road. This open-air market — Turkey’s largest — united Asian and European traders exchanging goods and world news. Today, mosques, cafes, restaurants, approximately 2,000 protected buildings and thousands of shops crowd the market’s tangle of nearly 100 streets. Start with brunch at Aysa Bosnak Borekcisi in the public courtyard of Abacioglu Han, formerly a marketplace inn. Aysa specialises in borek: phyllo-dough filled with minced beef, cheese, spinach, potato or eggplant (around 100 lira per portion). Turkish cay (pronounced chai), or tea, costs 15 lira.
11am: Shop for treasures
Smells of incense, roasting coffee and spices waft through Kemeralti’s pedestrian-only labyrinth filled with coppersmiths, cobblers, gold and silver merchants, and artisans. Along a street named Havra (the word for synagogue), one of the market’s busiest corridors, fishmongers, butchers and produce vendors vie for customers. Around the corner, stop in at the Yazihane Hat atelier to peruse traditional, framed calligraphic art painstakingly crafted by the shop’s master, Ilkay Kanar, who also makes the paper and ink (prices from 1,500 to 200,000 lira). At Ekim Seramik, Yesim Sahin sells intricately painted plates, tiles and other clay pottery (from 200 to 4,000 lira). Inside Kemeralti Antikacilar Carsisi’s (Kemeralti Antique Market) two floors of antique shops, visit Lula & Loop for curated, vintage Turkish clothes, hats and handbags that make story-worthy souvenirs (from 450 to 5,000 lira).
12:30pm: Follow the dream
According to lore, Alexander the Great took a nap on Pagos Hill above Izmir, where the ruins of Kadifekale castle are today, and dreamed of relocating the city known then as Smyrna to its current position. The Oracle of the god Apollo confirmed Alexander’s vision and that the move would make citizens at least three times happier. The Smyrna Agora — the result of that dream, originally constructed in the fourth century BC on the slopes of that hill and behind Kemeralti — acted as the newly moved city’s social, governmental and commercial hub. Roam the ruins (entrance, 210 lira) to get a sense of the sprawling site’s importance. Of particular note: the intact Corinthian portico columns; the subterranean arched architecture, aqueduct and cistern system; and graffiti adorning merchant stalls believed to be more than 1,500 years old.
2pm: Eat up culture
Melding culinary traditions is the philosophy at Balmumu Dukkan Lokanta, a diner with a clutch of tables in an intimate covered garden in the Alsancak neighbourhood. There’s no fixed menu. Inventive soups and dishes are created from daily market finds. If it’s available, try the baked mullet with red peppers, green beans, onions, dill and local olive oil (400 lira). Afterwards, stroll to the recently opened Izmir Culture and Arts Factory, a 19th-century tobacco factory turned cultural complex housing museums, libraries and art workshops. One ticket (350 lira) provides entry to the 7,245-square-metre Archaeology and Ethnography Museum, with artefacts like coins, lamps and jewellery from the Archaic Period (approximately 700 to 500 BC), and the Izmir Painting and Sculpture Museum, which showcases works by renowned Turkish artists.
5pm: Find your flamboyance
Take a ferry from the Alsancak terminal to the Bostanli terminal in the Karsiyaka district on Izmir Bay’s north side. Like the Konak and Alsancak districts, Karsyaka has pedestrian shopping streets, cafes and bistros, but with a more residential vibe. Then, either walk or take the tram to the Mavisehir fishermen’s harbour for a 90-minute Flamingo Road Boat Tour along the shore of the nearly 40,500-hectare Gediz Delta, protected under the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation of wetlands (180 lira per person). The wetland is home to around 300 identified bird species and more than 80,000 wintering fowl, including Dalmatian pelicans, great cormorants and oystercatchers. The stars, however, are the gangly, majestic pink flamingos feeding in estuary grasses.
7:30pm: Drink on the water
Back in Konak, head to the Konak Pier. Designed by Gustave Eiffel’s firm in the late 19th century, the iron-girded building has served as a customs office, fish market and, today, a collection of shops, restaurants and bars. Grab a waterside table at North Pier’s and honour the flamingos with a Pink Paradise cocktail concocted from raspberry gin and melon liqueur (450 lira). For a classic Izmirli dinner, walk to Sevince Lokantasi in Alsancak. Consult the kitchen’s glass case and choose dishes such as fried squash, sun-dried tomatoes and peppers, hummus, rocket salad, sarma (rolled grape leaves stuffed with rice and ground meat), grilled cow liver and boiled lamb brain soft enough to spread on fresh pita. Then, order raki and find a weathered wooden table with a red-chequered cloth inside or on the footpath. Dinner for two, around 2,500 lira.
10:30pm: Make a splash
After dining, dive into Alsancak’s lounges, tattoo parlours, palm-lined avenues and kebab kiosks. Test the waters at Hayyam wine bar, which has live jazz on the weekends, with a glass of local red: a cabernet, merlot, petit verdot blend from Sevilen Saraplari Vineyard costs 185 lira. Slip next door for a more raucous experience and live blues at Cinati (cover, 200 lira), where photos of Nina Simone, Janis Joplin and Herbie Hancock line the walls. Try the Cinati special: Beefeater gin, tequila, Malibu rum, lime juice and apple juice (350 lira). Finally, immerse yourself at Tato, a rocker bar that features live local metal (cover, 100 lira) and cold draft beer (150 lira).
Sunday
8:30am: Get on your bike
Fuel up at Reyhan Patisserie, an institution in Alsancak for almost six decades. Cases of cakes, pies, pastries and cookies dominate the entrance. Find a spot on the covered terrace and try the simit toast, a breakfast standard that is something between a bagel and a soft pretzel covered in poppy seeds. Here, it is served with cheese, spicy green peppers, tomatoes and olives (130 lira). Also order the milk pudding called kazandibi (150 lira); similar to creme caramel, it is caramelised on the bottom and served upside down. Then, hop on a bike and pedal part of Turkey’s 480-kilometre section of the Europe-traversing EuroVelo 8 cycle route. (BisiKoop, in Karsiyaka, rents touring bikes for 200 lira per day.) Your stage hugs the Aegean Sea for 37 kilometres of easygoing, paved and photograph-begging road to the beach community of Urla.
11:30am: Unwind seaside
For many Izmirli people, weekends mean getting out of the city. Urla is a go-to spot because of its old town, outdoor market, vineyard-covered countryside and surrounding peninsula with both secluded and lively beaches. Jump off your bike in the traditional bazaar and have lunch at the Michelin-recommended Begendik Abi, a family-run restaurant surrounded by olive and fig trees. Order baked lamb with cream sauce, sauteed leeks with sun-dried tomatoes and chickpeas, and beef-and-vegetable stew slow-cooked in a clay pot. For dessert, indulge in girit boregi: walnuts and cottage cheese in phyllo dough drizzled with simple syrup. Lunch for two, about 1,200 lira. Finish your odyssey with a celebratory cocktail at Urla Berlin’s, a drinking hole next to Urla’s harbour. The Yuzu Passion combines gin, passionfruit and yuzu juice (350 lira).
Key stops
The Historical Lift, built in 1907 to connect neighbourhoods of different elevations, has a tower-top terrace providing panoramic views of Izmir and the bay.
Ataturk Square, better known as Konak Square, has historical sites like the clock tower, First Bullet Monument and the Yali Mosque.
Where to eat
Deniz Restaurant, on the Kordon promenade, specialises in seafood and has been an Izmir cornerstone for four decades.
Aysa Bosnak Borekcisi, within Kemeralti Bazaar’s Abacioglu Han courtyard, specialises in borek: phyllo-dough pies filled with various delicacies.
Hayyam, a wine bar in Alsancak, stages live jazz on the weekends.
Cinati has live music on the weekends, specialising in blues, and serves cocktails to a relaxed crowd of patrons.
Tato, in Alsancak, is a go-to spot for more raucous shows featuring local acts playing heavier rock and metal.
Reyhan Patisserie, an institution for almost six decades, is a good place for breakfast and people-watching.
Begendik Abi is a Michelin-recommended, family-run restaurant surrounded by olive and fig trees in Urla.
Where to stay
The Izmir Palas Hotel, which opened in 1927 and is the oldest hotel in the city, sits directly on Kordon, Izmir’s seaside promenade. Modernised multiple times over the years, the Palas has kept pace with newer hotels and has 148 rooms (65 with sea views), a bar on the top floor, a library and a fitness room looking out to the Aegean. Room, breakfast included, from 3,200 lira (about $145).
L’Agora Old Town Hotel and Bazaar is the only hotel inside the Kemeralti Bazaar. In the Kucuk Karaosmanoglu Han, a former marketplace inn built in 1750, the 18-room boutique hotel also has a cafe, bar, restaurant, shops and often live music. Rooms, breakfast included, start at around 2,600 lira.
For short-term rentals, Izmir has plenty of options through platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com. Alsancak and Konak are perhaps the most popular districts for visitors, but the Karsiyaka district, on the north side of the bay, has plenty of shopping, cafes and restaurants, and a slightly more neighbourhood feel.
© The New York Times
This is an extract from an article that appears in print in our thirteenth edition, Page 120 of Winning Magazine with the headline: “Return to the centre”. Subscribe to Winning Magazine today.
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