Although major earthquakes devastated the city in the 17th and 18th centuries, Izmir continued as an important Ottoman dominion. As a world port, Izmir became home to a diverse population, including Jews, Armenians, and Greeks. The Greek occupation was contested by the Turks, who seized Smyrna in According to the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne in , the city was awarded to Turkey. The development of shipping and industry has led to rapid development and created urban congestion.
Population 2,, More information is available on Wikipedia. Today we feature Izmir, a city in the western extremity of Anatolia and the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. The Hittites which Homer wrote about in the Iliad, were an active force and civilization in the Anatolian mountain pastures because the Trojans were allies of the Hittites and they had a big influence on the Aegean settlements.
It is believed that the Amazons lived in the area between Caria and the Lydia which today is the sides of Yamanlar Mountains, and they carried on their existence until the arrival of the Aiolos and the Ions. Until the 7th century BC Izmir got richer because of its trade with its neighbors especially with Lydia.
Their good neighbor relationship lasted until the Lydians were conquered by the Persians. In these years, in which the Hellenistic period began, a new settlement was formed around Kadifekale ancient Mount Pagos and its city walls belong to the Hellenistic period and have undergone many restorations in the following periods.
The city, which was tied to the Pergamon Empire in BC, passed into the control of the Roman Empire which transformed Izmir into an important trade and harbor city. For the west, Izmir was seen as the center of Asia. In this period the Agora , Acropolis, Theater, Stadium, and constructions that didn't survive until today, like the libraries and the fountains, were built during this period.
The two roads stretching from Kadifekale Mt. Pagos to Ephesus and Sardis were built during the Roman period. Ephesus was an important cultural and religious center during the classic Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. When you arrive at the international terminal you will see a lot of buses and taxis. Some will even tell you that there is no metro this is what we were told by some taxi drivers.
From the airport the metro goes directly to the centre and the price level is unbeatable. We paid 15 TL per person about 2. Izmirimkart is the precious card you will need for all your travels. The card costs 6 TL and can be charges at all metro stations no minimum top-up amount.
Then, each trip costs 3 TL. A journey may contain changes, but should not exceed 90 minutes. On the other hand, be careful…. In Izmir Google Maps does not manage public transport at all. The application is free of charge. Like many cities in the world, Izmir is equipped with a whole network of urban bicycles. Located mainly on the seaside, they are an excellent way to get around quickly and cheaply while enjoying the scenery.
The entire promenade by the sea is equipped with a great cycle path and bicycles can also be ridden without any worries on board the ferries to extend the ride a little. In short, we enjoyed it! Since we left I have resumed our good old habits of going around the world and I scrupulously note all our expenses.
In this way I will be able to give you detailed articles on the budgets by country. But as in Turkey it may well be that the budget varies quite a bit depending on the region but also on the season from June we will enter the high tourist season , I thought I would share with you live small budget summaries for each of our destinations.
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There are relatively few tourist attractions that are really worth a visit, but despite that we enjoyed this first stop. The city is quiet, the people are very friendly and the cuisine is divine. We really enjoyed strolling along the harbour and just watching the people and the fishermen and the grandpa who are gossiping under the trees.
This week also marked the beginning of Ramadan. But to be honest, for the moment we have not yet really seen what it means in Turkey. As I told you at the beginning of this article, Izmir is a city that is very much oriented towards the West and here it seems that very few people do Ramadan. Our guide told us that he no longer knew many people who do Ramadan in Izmir, or at least not in a very strict way.
He told us that many simply choose to give up something they like, or to limit the number of meals to 1 or 2 per day, but without necessarily being very strict about schedules. Tomorrow we leave for Ephesus , then a small village in the vineyards before continuing towards Pamukkale and then the coast to follow a part of the Lycian Way trail with our tent on our back.
Note: This article contains affiliate links. This well help us to continue to provide you free and independant content. Thanks for your support. The rental rate is 3 TL per hour about 0. The card can then be recharged in 5 TL steps. Be careful, you must have an ID on you.
The rental is then blocked for 24 hours, so with this payment method you cannot rent several times during the day and during the night credit card rentals are impossible with the Izmirim Kart : the card you were told about above for metro and trams. To do this, it must be activated at Konak Pier.
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