Sarah and I spent a quick two days in Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey and our “home base” for our visits to Ephesus and Pamukkale this weekend. The two days went by even faster because we didn’t do much yesterday. We arrived to pouring rain and almost freezing temperatures…so we decided to have a restful afternoon in our hotel planning out the rest of our time in Europe. (I planned to be even lazier than that by watching TV for a few hours but our hotel only had Turkish-language channels!)
After we dropped our bags at the Walk In Hotel, we walked over to Adil Muftuoglu for a traditional Turkish lunch. Sarah found this place on TripAdvisor and we were so happy with the meal we got – they serve hearty meat dishes with ample sides, which was perfect on a cold, rainy day. That’s pretty much it for Thursday, but the slower afternoon did us both some good.
We woke up today to clear skies and set out to see the city. Our first stop was Kordon, a promenade by the water not far from our hotel. We saw lots of police barricades and men in uniform as we approached but everything seemed calm so we stayed on course. As it turns out, there was a police graduation ceremony here today so there was much fanfare and celebration: parades of officers in heavy riot gear, motorcades and low-flying helicopters doing stunt maneuvers (there were also what must have been rookies riding bikes and segways…not exactly a show of force!). Some officers on the scene thought we needed to partake in the celebration so they gave Sarah some flowers and me a Turkish flag to wave – when in Izmir…!
Sarah posing by the windy water with our new gear.
Our next stop was the Kemeraltı market. There were seemingly an endless number of winding alleys with small shops – it was nice to see more of Izmir, but we both thought it didn’t really compare to some of the markets in Istanbul. From here we headed back to the water to see Izmir’s Clock Tower and the Yali Mosque. There is a reason this is considered by many to be the city’s center – the park around the Clock Tower was beautiful (albeit overrun with pigeons!).
Izmir's Clock Tower.
The Yali Mosque's lone minaret.
After a stop for lunch at one of the cafés near the Clock Tower, we continued walking south to the Asansor. This sight is just an elevator built in 1907 that was intended to help elderly residents deal with Izmir's topography. But given its excellent views of the city it has become an attraction for tourists to see too.
View of Izmir from the top of the Asansor.
We liked this lamppost we saw up there that had been visited by another "S&A" couple.
Sarah snapped this great picture of the small street leading away from the Asansor on our way out.
We called it an early night again tonight because we have a busy couple days ahead of us. We’re picking up a rental car in the morning and driving down to Ephesus, then staying overnight nearby and driving to Pamukkale on Sunday before heading back to Izmir. Will be a bit of a whirlwind (and driving in Turkey should be another adventure) but we’re looking forward to our last few days here!