My Trips to İzmir and Konya - Turkey

Hello my friends. Izmir is accepted as a port and industrial city. It is also thought that it is not very rich in terms of places to visit. However, I believe this city deserves much more. I spent two days here and found many interesting things. I started my trip right from the center, from the Clock Tower in Konak Square. This tower was built in 1901 to commemorate the twenty fifth anniversary of Sultan Abdulhamid II's accession to the throne. It is not very high, twenty five meters. But it is incredibly elegant and ornate with its Ottoman style carved elements.

The clock of this tower was gifted by German Emperor Wilhelm. I had seen a similar version of this clock and almost the exact same tower in Antalya as well. Interestingly the clock on this tower stopped only once, during the earthquake in 1971.

The beautiful columned building right next to it is the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality building. Another symbol of Konak Square is Yali Mosque, built in the late fifteenth century. It attracts attention with its very beautiful and elegant ceramic tiles brought from Kutahya.

Next I went to Anafartalar Street. This place is currently the main shopping street of the city. In old times it used to extend along the harbor to facilitate trade. Here there were many small shops belonging to merchants who sailed here and sold goods they brought from diferent countries. On this shopping street, you can buy clothes, shoes and jewelry of both world brands and local brands suitable for every taste and budget.

And another notable place here is Basdurak mosque. Located inside the bazaar, this mosque has twenty eight shops on its ground floor. Only its upper floors are reserved for worship. Also in this bazaar in Izmir, there is a currency exchange bureau with the most favorable exchange rate I have seen in all of Turkey. So it is best to exchange your dollars here.

After this I accidentally came out into a huge food court in front of Hisar mosque. There are various cafes and restaurants serving Turkish cuisine here. Many smells were blended together.

It is hard to believe, but a little further ahead, there used to be Izmir's harbor castle belonging to the Knights Hospitaller. Its name was Castle of Saint Peter. After this castle was captured by Timur, the Hospitallers built a new castle, but this time in Bodrum. By the way, I mentioned the castle in Bodrum in my previous posts.

Deep in the historical bazaar, there is Hisar Mosque, which was considered the largest mosque during the Ottoman Empire period.

Here in the historical bazaar, there is a separate building called Cevahir Bedesteni, which means jewel market. Here you can find wonderful souvenirs at very reasonable prices. There is no noisy crowd like in the rest of the bazaar and the atmosphere is very pleasant.

By the way right at the exit of the bazaar, I found a wonderful cafe where I ordered chicken skewer and chicken meatball. The prices were very low and its rating on Google Maps was quite high. That is why I decided to order food here.

After a noisy bazaar, there is nothing more pleasant than walking along the cordom by the sea.

According to my impressions Izmir and especially its center are definitely about trade. If you want to buy various items or clothes for yourself from Turkey, I recommend you do it in Izmir. Because the same items I saw in Bodrum, Marmaris and even Kemer are here as well and much cheaper. The exchange rate is also quite different here by the way.

So why are items so cheap here? Because this is a port city. Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey. Even if you do not plan to buy anything, I recommend walking in this bazaar. Because there are traditions here that have been going on for centuries. Narrow streets, shops, merchants. All of these have existed here for hundreds of years. Witnessing how the locals bargain and buy things for themselves is a separate pleasure and a very interesting process.

Izmir is again completely different from all other cities in Turkey where I have been before. One thing I want to mention is that mainly locals rest here. The number of tourists coming from other countries is very small. Yes mostly there are locals. Even if there are tourists in the bazaar, it is seen that they buy some things and souvenirs, but they are also mainly domestic tourists.

The hotel where I stayed here was brand new. There was an option to pay upon checkin via Booking. So even if you do not have a foreign bank card, you can come and pay in cash. A large TV, double bed, great and illuminated wardrobes, it was really super useful. Each headboard had its own shelves. Floor to-ceiling large windows. Tea corner, water and I finally had my own WiFi point.

The biggest advantage of our hotel was that there was a bar in the lobby where you could have tea or coffee prepared twenty four hours a day. And it was completely free. Of course, there were other drinks as well, but they were subject to an extra fee. After having breakfast at the hotel, I went towards that historical and beautiful building to cross to the opposite shore by ferry.

The ferry ride option in Izmir seems even cheaper than in Kusadasi. Here they charged me thirty three Turkish Liras for a ticket. And the ferries work at sunset as well. So for thirty three liras, you can watch the sunset from a ferry.

I came to the Karsiyaka region by ferry to find a bicycle rental place. I wanted to ride a bicycle a little in this region. Because the weather was at the most perfect level for cycling. It was neither hot nor cold. And essentially, I saw everywhere in Izmir, so I finally had time to ride a bicycle.

It is already visible that Karsiyaka is markedly different from the center of Izmir. There are almost no municipal or financial institutions here. Instead, there are cozy, lovely cafes, quiet streets, which I guess is a rare thing in Izmir and I liked this place.

And I successfully handled the bicycle rental business for eight hundred liras for three hours. Then I went to ride on the cordom. Eight hundred liras for a threehour bike rental is not considered very cheap, but the bikes were not bad. What is cheap in Turkey right now anyway? I think everything is expensive right now.

I rode about seven kilometers on the blue bike path. I reached areas where almost no infrastructure was left. I could call them the outskirts of Izmir. But look whom I found. Pink flamingos live here. Incredible!!! 😍 I think I had only seen them in zoos. And there are quite a lot of them here. It is hard to call it a nature reserve, but after all, I reached the habitat of both flamingos and pelicans. There were a lot of seagulls as well, of course. It was almost a fairytale place. It would certainly be even better if there were not so much trash around. Still, I stood in amazement and watched all this wildlife. I was really fascinated.

That is why I think one of the things to definitely do in Izmir is cycling on the cordom. It is very long and you ride with great pleasure, looking both at Izmir itself and at the wildlife that you can sometimes only see in zoos.

When I woke up in the morning, I thought about what to do, because I had visited almost everywhere. Suddenly the idea of going cycling came up. And what is surprising is that when you get on a bike, the city gradually changes before you. When I went even further with the bikes, it was surprising that these bike paths were everywhere. Moreover the bike paths split into two in some places and it was possible to go to one side or the other. Of course, if I had more time, I would have gone even further. I had a great time in Izmir and continued on my way.

Then my whole day was spent on the road. Because we needed to reach Cappadocia from Izmir. Since the way was very far, I decided to find a hotel in the middle and chose the city of Konya. I had a very nice hotel. Stylish, rich and beautiful. I suspect that mainly locals stay here. Because it was stylish and flashy, just as locals like it.

Still there was everything necessary in the room. It was not big, but the bed was great. Everything necessary was available in the bathroom as well. There was a shower cabin. Everywhere was clean, beautiful and consistent with the reviews. In short, everything was great. I rested there that day, got my sleep and tomorrow I have a short way left to Cappadocia.

The city of Konya is more of a Muslim, typical Anatolian or inland city. It is pleasant to walk here, but it is quite different from the rest of Turkey where I have been before. The city of Konya is a typical city of Turkey's conservative interior region. Most of its residents are dressed quite conservatively. Especially the number of women wearing chadors and traditional Islamic clothing is high. Most of the tourists coming to this city are people who want to visit Islamic mosques and other landmarks belonging to the Islamic world.

Alaaddin City Park located on the hill, is the main central city park in Konya. Even the view of the nearby streets is visible from here. There are many beautiful trees here. Frankly one day will be completely sufficient to visit the city. Therefore on the way to Cappadocia or while returning from Cappadocia, you can stop by here, enjoy this park and quiet streets and see how the real residents of Turkey live without ornamentation and away from tourist areas. They will also look at you with curiosity. In summary a nontouristic and very authentic place.

Alaaddin Mosque was built in the thirteenth century on the site of an old Byzantine basilica and is the main landmark of the city of Konya. It is also the tomb of Turkish sultans. I found the entrance to the mosque courtyard and the sign here lists the sultans buried in the inner courtyard. The tombs of the Seljuk sultans are located here.

If you have been to Turkey many times, here I am showing you the cities that tourists hardly ever visit. And frankly, the people here look at Europeans with great curiosity. In general looking at the abandoned houses and the neglected state of the city, I thought it might not be safe here. One feels insecure in such an atmosphere. But I searched on Google and it turned out that this place is safe. And it turned out that this is the most religious city in Turkey. That is why the number of women in chadors is so high here.

Also, while I was here I wanted to go into a pharmacy, but almost all of them were closed. Because it was lunchtime and prayer time. I slept great here, rested and was ready for the three hour road to Cappadocia.