If
you’re a regular reader, you’re probably wondering how I ventured back to a
Turkish post.
Well,
I’ve decided to join a monthly travel guide link up organized by Fiona, a fellow
travel blogger, based in Brisbane, Australia, Tiffin Bite Sized FoodAdventures. Each month features a new letter of the alphabet. This
month is the letter “I.” I know I’m joining in a bit late so I won’t cover
letters A-H, but I thought this link up would push me to publish a few more of
my thousands of travel photos. The trick is to only chose ONE photo per post.
It
would be easy to write about Istanbul as
I’ve done so often on the blog. However, I thought I’d feature a different
Turkish city – Izmir, the country’s third largest city.
I is for Izmir, Turkey
During
the three years we lived in Turkey, I visited this Aegean coastal city on three
separate occasions. My Izmir trips coincided with visits to Çeşme,
Kuşadası
and then lastly the Greek island of nearby Samos. As I
looked back through my photos, I realize we hardly gave Izmir a chance. I
should have spent more time wandering the city’s cobblestone streets or along
the seafront.
At
least, we spent some time in one of the city’s main highlights – the Konak Square (Konak Meydanı). This busy square is located at the southern end of
Atatürk Avenue and is named after the Governor’s Mansion or Vali Konağı. The singular word konak means mansion in Turkish.
In
the middle of this square is the ornate Izmir Saat Kulesi, a historic clock tower
designed by a Levantine French architect and built in 1901 to commemorate the
25th anniversary of Sultan SultanAbdülhamid II's accession to the throne. Interestingly, the clock was a
gift from German Emperor Wilhem II who also has a fountain in Sultanahmet’s
Square named after him.
Izmir
itself is a lovely city and definitely deserves its own time for a longer
visit. Pop on over to my blogger friends at Turkey’s for Life to read about their numerous tips for visiting Izmir.
Join me in March for the letter "J"!
Join me in March for the letter "J"!
%2Bbird%2BWarsaw%2B2014.JPG)
8 comments:
Oh, we just fell in love with the city of Izmir when we visited. We've been twice now and plan to go back again this year at some point. Love the bars, there, and the summer atmosphere when everyone sits out on the grass along the seafront at nights. :) Mmmm, dreaming now. ;)
oh that is fabulous! what a sky, what a tower (minaret?) Terrific photo.
Welcome and thanks for joining in Joy. I spent a few weeks in Turkey at the end of a Middle East trip. We travelled up from Antalya (no one going there these days!) to Cappadocia and then on to Anakara for the train to Istanbul. As Aussies do, we hired a car and continued on to Gellibolu then down to Cannakale, the Pergamon Altar, Pamukkale, Ephesus and then a loop back to Istanbul. Of course,we didn't visit Izmir... I loved Turkey and intend to return in 2018 when we take 6 months off to travel. Thanks for adding this as inspiration to my list. See you back for 'J'
I love reading about places I've never been. Gives me a new idea for future trips. Thanks for sharing!
@Julia, I really wish we could have another go at İzmir and see more of the historic sites! Hope you get a chance to go again! :)
Thanks Sherry! Although it does look like a minaret, it's actually a clock tower.
@Fiona, wow! That sounds like an amazing trip! There's so much I'd still love to see in Turkey. Hope your next trip works out and see you for 'J.' :)
Thanks Patti! There's so much I want to see and visit in the world too. Thanks for stopping by! :)
Post a Comment