1-Ephesus Museum: This is a must do even though you are not into ancient history. The city built by Greeks and Romans, by that time it was by the sea, not it is miles away! Ephesus is located in Selcuk, only 30min by car to İzmir, there are signs along the road. You can either get a guide or use the rental audio, which I highly recommend. The tiles, frescos and pillars are well reserved as well as the amphitheater. Imagine the site gets 1.5 million visitor every year itself! Be prepared it is going to be a long walk, if you go during the summer time make sure to have bottle of water, sun screen and a hat!
2-Clock Tower: Clock Tower is the symbol of this ancient city, built in 1901. It is meeting point for locals, or people go there with their kids to feed the pigeons. İt is accessible by walk from Konak, Alsancak and Kemeraltı.
3-Agora Open Air Museum: If you want to see new and old, this is the place to go. Best part is, it is conveniently located, and you can also go below ground. Many paintings and church kept very well, entrance fee is very little, definitely worth to see!
4-Asansor: If you did not go to Asansor you did not go to İzmir! It is a hidden gem, for some reason it is hard to find it! Anyways, Asansor is one of the landmark for the city. It has one of the best view so far, there is also a restaurant on top where you can have a lunch or a nice coffee. Interestingly it does not look very tall from a far, but when you go up, no doubt you would love it. Try to go during sunset, it has quite an impressive panoramic view.
5- Kordon: Stroll along Kordon and enjoy a coffee or a cold beer. Just take your time, make sure to go there late in the afternoon.
6-Kemeralti: Hidden gem for crazy shoppers. It is much smaller than Grand Bazaar, so make sure your expectations are not too high:) You will be very much surprised when you heard the deals! Often quality is pretty good, and plenty of choices. There are many local lokantas (restaurants) and coffees in Kemeralti. If you like to try new tastes, this is the place! Depending on the time and date, it can get pretty crazy with sellers yelling around to get potential buyers attention!
7-St. Polycarp Church: This ancient church is conveniently located across Hilton Hotel. Inside is pretty impressive, and its door welcomes everyone. Only problem is, it is hard to find it open! So if you plan to visit make sure to ask around for hours.
8-Hisar Cami (Mosque): Hisar Cami is 400 years old and located in Kemeralti. So, you can visit all at once! It is from 16th century and oldest and largest mosque in Izmir. As long as you cover your head and shoulders everybody is welcomed inside, by the way you need to take your shoes off. Try to go during the prayer, have no doubt you will be impressed, it is very quite, calm and peaceful.
9-Synagogue Street (Havra Sokagi): This is not a miss, if you are around Kemeralti, another place to visit. Make sure to ask around, otherwise you may never find the synagogue. Inside is very impressive, calms and kept very well. It is unfortunate to think about past, cannot even imagine how was it before, nowadays it feels like synagogue is trying to hide itself...I can see how vibrant the Jewish community by that time, such a melting point and times in Izmir cultures and religions were living together peacefully and happily...
10-Alsancak: It is the melting point of Izmir where wealthy locals and expats live. It is located one street up to the sea, walking distance to Kordon or Kemeralti (ok, you gotta be fit to walk it is not that close!). You can find all the upscale shops, stores, and restaurants in Alsancak. It is a happening place! Young crowd hang out and pack the restaurants, coffees and bars at night. During the high season, summer months, it is almost empty due to the melting high degree! People start to show up after 6pm! If you have time, take a walk you will enjoy laid back lifestyle of locals.
By the way, in the second picture I am enjoying my limonate with mint (popular drink during the summer), must try!
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