Our third stop in Turkey was Izmir.
After an 1.5 hour flight from Samsun to Istanbul, a 1 hour layover in Istanbul, and another 1.25 hour flight from Istanbul, we finally arrived to Izmir.
İzmir, historically Smyrna, is the third most populous city of Turkey and the country's largest port after İstanbul. It is located in the Gulf of İzmir, by the Aegean Sea. Depending on who tells the story, the city was destroyed by fire either by an accident of war or by angry vengeful Turks on a rampage after their victory in 1922. The city has since been rebuilt into a modern, functional, palm tree-lined, and thoroughly pleasant metropolitan city.
We stayed at the Izmir Palas Oteli. Occupying a 75-year-old building, the Izmir Palas is the oldest hotel in town, still run by the same family that opened it in 1928, and one of the area's better three-star establishments. We had a marvelous view of the Gulf of Izmir from our 7th floor room.http://www.izmirpalas.com.tr/
After a quick recognizance mission around our hotel's neigborhood, we decided to have dinner at the best seafood restaurant in town which was conveniently located in our hotel.http://www.denizrestaurant.com.tr/
Deniz Restaurant, "The flavour from sea", combines great fresh seafood with great service. Also, it has one of the most beautiful views of Ýzmir Kordon 1.
Deniz Restaurant's specialty is an adaptation of a meaty favorite: Balik kavurma, a preparation of the flakiest Mediterranean catch in a traditional earthenware pan. When you order fish, you are taken to a counter where you choose your the fish cut you want.
The promenade in the water front is called the First Kordon. The First Kordon is the life of the city. Here you find walking paths alongside the water and countless restaurants, bars and cafes. The Kordon is a lively place, and around 90% of the people were locals dining or drinking with their families and friends.
I was able to survive very aggressive carpet salesmen in Istanbul streets and Bazaar, but I could not survive this shoe-shiner. Since we never established a price in advance, when he was done, he told me that I owed him 13 ytl (about $10.00). I was repulse by the price, but I knew that it was my fault since I never asked how much. I didn't have change, so I gave him a 50 ytl bill. He only gave me 20 back from my 50. Then, he claimed that he had told me 30 lira ($22.00). I exploded and told him that he was ripping me off and that I was not happy with his BS. I wagged my finger at his face, and he clearly could tell that I was getting a little crazy. He fearfully backed off and gave all 50 lira back; then, he told me to give him whatever I thought his work was worth. I ended up giving him like 12 ytl ($9.50). I could have given him less, but I needed this to be a lesson, so I could be on alert all the time.
The statue of Ataturk stands in the middle of Cumhuriyet Meydan and presents Ataturk sitting on a horse and facing the sea. Erected in 1933 the monument commemorates the day Kemal came to Izmir with the turk forces.
We were amazed by the natiolism displayed all over Izmir. You could see Turkish flags all over buildings, stores, cars, etc. We didn't know that a political rally was scheduled for the weekend.
Commanding Konak Square, this elaborately decorated clock tower has become the symbol of Izmir. Designed in a late Ottoman Moorish style, the Clock Tower was presented to the city by Sultan Abdülhamid in 1901 and stands over 24m (80 ft.) high.
Izmir has come a long way since the late 1800s when the Ottoman elite christened the port city Kokaryali (Smelly Waterfront). Today the city has earned the nobler designation of Güzelyali (Beautiful Waterfront).
The Agora was constructed during the rule of Alexander the Great; today is mostly in ruins. Like all other Agoras of the ancient world, it was a meeting place for all commercial, political, and religious activities for the local people. It was surrounded mostly by state buildings on a rectangular plan with a large central courtyard and a covered stoa around it.
The agora was destroyed several times by strong earthquakes and it was rebuilt after each one of them, final restoration was done by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius when a major earthquake hit the city in 178 AD.
The Kemeralti Bazaar, in the city centre, stretches from the coast road to the Konak area, and is a major shopping centre with a vast array of goods inside. It combines modern businesses, shops and cafes, with antiques, dried fruit, household and leather goods in old alleyways with vaults and domes.
It seems that all shoppers in the Bazaar stop at this food court to get food, tea or coffee. In the middle of the food court is a huge tree that keeps the whole area shaded.
We grabbed a table and ordered some food from one of the many food stands. I forgot what we ordered, but it consisted of a mix of lamb, onions and peppers topped with a heavy tomatoe sauce over some bread; the yougurt that came with it helped balanced the strong lamb flavor.
Advanterous Sara was the first one to take a bite. The food was cheap and very good. It is always great to try local food. After our meal, we ordered some Turkish coffee.
After our excursion all over the city, we decided to return to the hotel room to relax and enjoy the sunset from our room while having a cold beer (Efes) before heading out to one of the restaurants on the Kordon for drinks.
The day before leaving Izmir, we visited Ephesus. The ruins of Ephesus, situated near Selçuk town at 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Izmir, is a main center of archaeological interest. Ephesus, once was the trade centre of the ancient world and the religious centre of the early Christianity, but today is an important tourism centre in Turkey. The picture shows the Basilica. The basilica was used for stock exchange and commercial business. It has three gates opening onto a stoa leading to the Bath of Varius..
Odeon (Bouleuterion) is the small theatre in Ephesus, where state affairs and concerts were held. It has 3 doors opening from the stage to the podium. The Odeon used to be enclosed with a wooden roof.
It was constructed in the 2nd century A.D. by the order of Publius Vedius Antonius and his wife Flavia paiana, two wealthy citizens in Ephesus. It has a capacity of 1450 people, and it was used mainly for the city council meetings.
Temple of Domitian is the first structure in Ephesus known to be dedicated to an emperor. It was built on a high and wide terrace set, on vaulted foundations.
View of the Curettes Street from the small hill next to the Hercules Gate. Curettes Street took its name from the class of priests referred to as "curettes" in long lists found at the clerical school of priests. Colonnaded galleries with mosaics on the floor were located on both sides of the street with a roof to protect the pedestrians from sun or rain.
Scholastica Baths: the construction of the baths dates to the first century, but in the fourth century, a wealthy woman in Ephesus called Scholastica restored the structure and gave her name to the baths.
Temple of Hadrianis one of the best preserved and most beautiful structures on Curetes Street. It was built before 138 A.D by P. Quintilius and was dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian, who came to visit the city from Athens in 128 A.D.
Ephesus Terrace Houses are located on the slopes of Bulbul Mountain, opposite the Hadrian Temple. These houses were for the important and wealthy people of Ephesus. The first frescoes, mosaics and other things found were taken to museums, but after that findings have been left in their original places.
Celsus Library is one of the most beautiful structures in Ephesus. Built in 135 A.D., it is a monumental tomb for Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, the governor of the province of Asia. The building was used as a library, the scrolls of the manuscripts were kept in cupboards in niches on the walls. The capacity of the library was more than 12,000 scrolls.
The style of the library, with an ornate, balanced, and well-planned façade, reflects the Greek influence on roman architecture.
The most magnificent structure in Ephesus ancient city, the great Theatre is located on the slope of Panayir Hill. It was first constructed in the Hellenistic Period, in the third century BC during the reign of Lysimachos, but then during the Roman Period, it was enlarged and formed its current style that is seen today.
Ephesus Great Theater was the largest in Anatolia, the theatre has the capacity of 25,000 seats. The theatre was used not only for concerts and plays, but also for religious, political and philosophical discussions and for gladiator and animal fights. Currently, concerts and plays are held at this theater during the summer.
Arcadian Street (Harbor Street) is 530 meters long and 11 meters wide, and on both sides of the street there were shops and galleries, and gates in the form of monumental arches.
St. Paul argued with the silversmith Demetrius at the theatre at Ephesus. Demetrius responded to Paul's preaching by encouraging the crowd in a chant of "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" Demetrius' alleged motive was to protect the business he had selling silver statues of the Goddess.
After returning from Ephesus to Izmir, we were welcomed by one of The Republic Protests (Cumhuriyet Mitingleri). The Republic Protests were a series of peaceful mass rallies that took place in Turkey in 2007 in support of the Kemalist ideal of state secularism, so after our visit to Ephesus we were able to witness history in the making.
On May 13, the 5th political rally took place in Gündoğdu square, İzmir, right beside our hotel. Reportedly over one million - and possibly two million - people gathered in İzmir for the rally to demand their country remain a secular state, stepping up pressure on the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) government before July elections.
The first rally took place in Ankara on 14 April just two days before the start of the presidential election process. The second one took place in Istanbul on 29 April. The third and fourth rallies took place consecutively in Manisa and Çanakkale on 5 May. The fifth rally took place in İzmir on 13 May. Although the organizers had initially intended to terminate the series of rallies with that of İzmir, two further demonstrations were held in the cities of Samsun and Denizli.
The rally at Gündoğdu square was a peaceful and at exact 5 o'clock all the activists disappeared leaving tons of garbage along the First Kordon. The MILLIYET newspaper publishesed a report that claimed that this was "one of the most crowded rallies in Turkey's political history."
The early political rally was followed by another smaller but very loud rally. The very popular soccer team Fenerbahce claimed the national championship during the early hours of the evening. The main avenues became jammed packed with honking cars filled with fans waving Fenerbahce's team colors. The party continued past midnight, and once again the great location of our hotel put us right in the middle of the celebration. The celebration by our hotel started with a very small but very loud group of fans; 30 minutes later the street and park was packed with people celebrating.
Izmir's main otogar (bus station) is laid out much like an airport. The bus station, located in the Altindag suburb on the outkirts of the city, has intercity buses to points all over Turkey. The buses in Turkey are modern, comfortable and provide great service.
Sara patiently waits for the bus departure time that will take us from Izmir to Marmaris, our last stop in Turkey. The bus ride to Marmaris was scheduled to take a little over 5 hours.
As soon as you leave the city, life in Turkey's countryside seems to be more simple. Many young residents from rural Turkey commute or move to the cities looking for a better way of life. Many of them end up getting jobs in the service industry.
Marmaris is an important port city and a tourist destination on the Mediterranean coast, located in southwest Turkey, in the Muğla Province. The main source of income for the city is tourism. The pine-covered mountains surrounding central Marmaris provide a breathtaking backdrop to the small bays, inlets, and coves of the Datça Peninsula. The road that takes you to Marmaris winds down through a breathtaking mountain terrain. All this beauty is offset by seedy-looking signage and fast-food stands advertising baked potatoes to a high concentration of low-budget English tourists lazing about on the bleak public beach. 
In our only night in Marmaris we stayed at the Cettia Hotel. Once again we had a wonderful view of the bay. That is all the positive that I have to say about the town. We were very glad that we only spent a few awoken hours in Marmaris. Many of the tourists there lacked some class. We had to stop at Marmaris because it was the only way to get to Rhodes Island in Greece via ferry. We paid about 100 Euros for a 50 min. trip to Rhodes on the hydrofoil boat. Our other alternative was via airplane (from anywhere in Turkey to Rhodes), but that would cost us over a $1,000.00 dollars. 
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