Bayram Bash 2011: Izmir!

Dear readers,

I'm sorry to have left you hanging on the last bid of my bayram adventures. I know you were waiting with much anticipation on the edge of your seats.

Luckily, now that I've read the entire The Hunger Games series, as well as The Green Mile, I'm ready to finish up this post on Izmir. 

This is going to be mostly photos, less words. I'm a little tired, readers, don't judge.

 So, I overnight-bussed it from Antalya to Izmir, and passed out in my hotel room for five hours until Greg texted me. We walked around Basmane and Konak and Alsancak in the afternoon before grabbing dinner.

Konak Camii, super cute little mosque.

Kutahya tiles, not Iznik. Get it straight.

Konak Clock Tower, designed by a French dude to make
the Ottomans more modern and western.

Shrimp fettuccine. Almost like real Italian. Almost.

Just a little Ataturk for you, no big deal.

This is how Greg and I ended our night: finding a "love trail" through Izmir. We didn't walk it through... to be honest, it looks like a glorified version of a rape trail, but that could just be the Rowan in me talking.

The next day, Greg and I decided to take the walk through town to visit the Agora of Smyrna. Smyrna is the Roman name of Izmir, before it was Izmir, obviously.

It doesn't look like much now, but it was kind of a big deal in its day... It was the commercial, judicial, and political center of a major Roman city. Sure, Ephesus and Pergamum get most of the attention because they are so well preserved, but Smyrna was a real big deal. Its agora was used not only by the Romans, but also by the Selcuks, the Ottomans, and the Byzantines. That's more than a millennium of use, even though the Ottomans used it as a cemetery.

 Its agora was used not only by the Romans, but also by the Selcuks, the Ottomans, and the Byzantines. That's more than a millennium of use, even though the Ottomans used it as a cemetery.

One of the amazing things about the Agora is the absurd number of different types and colors of stones that were used in its construction. It must have been a real sight to see... you know, when MARCUS AURELIUS rebuilt it during his rule. Sound familiar? He's the old guy who dies at the beginning of Gladiator.

Pictured: just how awesome history can be.

The agora also had a basement. The contractors who built my house couldn't even handle that. And it has like four sections!

 

After our trip to the Agora, Greg and I decided to walk down the kordon, which is more or less a pier fileld with restaurants and bars. And while we were walking, of course, Greg made some friends who were just so sad to see us go. Highlight of my bayram, I think.

That night, we were hosted by some Fulbright friends, Donnie and Catherine, in their lovely Izmir apartment to watch the Turkish national football team's game that night. To make a long, painful gruesome story short, they were pulverized 3-0. Womp womp, Turkey... womp womp.


The next day, before I headed back to Balikesir, we did another loop around the kordon after we went to the historical pazar area of Izmir. It's called the Kemeralti pazar, and while it's not as grand as the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, it was really nice and not too busy.

This lady looks pissed that I took her picture, though.

Overall, Izmir: not too shabby. If only it had been a little warmer!