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Izmir, Turkey

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At Izmir’s opposite shore lies the suburb of Karşıyaka, which, coincidentally, means “Opposite Shore”. The Greeks called it Kordelio (Κορδελιό). It’s a nice, quiet area that has pretty much nothing interesting to deter visitors away from Izmir proper, unless you’re into historic Levantine homes. If you are, you’re in luck!

Something that’s not easily noticeable when wandering through Izmir is the number of synagogues in Kemeraltı, especially around Havra Street (Havra Sokak). Much of the Jewish community of Izmir used to live in the area until recently. There were once 40,000 Jews in the city but that number is now down to less than 2,000.

A great place to start a day in Izmir is at Konak Square (Konak Meydanı), the busiest square in the city. It’s surrounded by government buildings and is full of street vendors, children feeding (and chasing) pigeons, and lots and lots of pigeons.