I’ve been to İzmir quite a few times since that’s where Ferda grew up and where her parents still live. However, until my visit last month, the only sort of touristy thing I’d done in İzmir was climbing in Kaynaklar, a village in a pretty area a bit east of the city. How have I not written a blog about Kaynaklar??!! We’ve spent at least two weeks camping and climbing there in at least two different trips.
What I made time for this trip to İzmir was the extensive market area of Kemeraltı, the Roman Agora, the archaeology museum, and the Church of Saint Polycarp.
As with most good tours this one started with a bicycle to get to the center of the city. This is İzmir’s BİSİM system.
Kemeraltı in the center of İzmir might be the funnest market to visit in all of Turkey. How had I not spent more time in there before? It’s where İzmirites go shopping, but you can also find almost anything a tourist might hope to buy in Turkey. Indeed there’s even one small area dedicated to preserving handmade arts and crafts that are dying out in Turkey, like silk and felt (mixed together) textiles and detailed painting with amazingly small brushes. You can find those shops in the arcade under this mosque:
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