Izmir

Izmir. How much do I love Izmir. Very much. 

Our apartment is on the 2nd floor of an inner city house. The stairs are steep, narrow and made of marble. Inside the apartment we have peace and quiet, in fact it is totally sound proof! Can't even hear the call to prayer. We have everything we need including a washing machine. I have booked three nights, but soon request a further two when we realise how fabulous Izmir is. In hindsight I would suggest a week here. Outside we are straight onto the street. There is no outside space, some apartments have balconies but most don't. This seems fairly typical of cities in Turkey. The roads of the citycentre are numbered in a grid, we are living on 1454 sokak. Sokak is Street in Turkish. This actually makes it quite easy to find your way around. I have no map at this point, so we head out blindly into the streets. A quick google before we leave tells me we are 5 minutes to the seafront. So we are! And what a surprise. 

The bay of Izmir is laid out before us. We are quite close to the port which is bustling with boats coming and going. Container ships like small towns glide in and out causing barely a ripple. Fishing boats and ferries. There are also three ferry piers along the bay which will take you to the other side of the bay. Aksancak (nearest us), Pasaport pier and Konak pier. The seafront is very wide, there is no beach, but there is a sea wall which serves as a handy seat. There are always people fishing here. (Whats the old saying? Give a man a fish and he eats for one day, give a man a rod and he eats forevermore.) There is a wide promenade, and a wide lawn with flower beds and trees. It is about 25 yards wide, sometimes wider. There are blue paths for cyclists, red paths for walkers made of that cushioned tarmac that is so nice underfoot, a gravel path for joggers. And, of course, the promenade its self which is a free-for-all. There are play areas for children. And for our canine friends automatic dog water bowls and poo bag dispensers on the lamp posts! Plenty of bins with ashtrays on the top for cigarette butts. Then, inland, there is a cobbled one way road flanked by restaurants, cafes and bars. This is where the locals come to relax and socialise. People sit on benches or on the grass chatting, sharing picnics and enjoying the fresh air. We see some balloons strung out on the water, they are using them for target practise with rifles!  Entertaining. Not easy when there is a slight swell on the water. There is also a big park in the middle of the city called Kulturpark for recreation, we never got to see that - no time!

Hookah pipes are available in a lot of bars. A Hookah is the equiptment, Shisha is what is being smoked. Shisha is tobacco soaked in honey, molasses and other sweet flavours such as apple, mint or coconut. Some places offer exotic concoctions like cocktail flavours. The smoke bubbles through water which makes it cool. Its a sociable thing to do, participants in a hookah use their own mouthpiece. (No germs). Depending on how long you participate, the toxins you take in vary of course, but generally it is more harmful than normal cigarettes. The smell of a Hookah is actually very nice, unlike cigarettes!

On the cobbled road you can get a horse and carriage ride. Short trip 20TL, long trip 40TL. We take the long trip. Its a lovely way to see Izmir. Our horses are called Mordovia and Antonio, I didn't catch the name of the driver! The jingling of the harness, the creak of leather and the clip clop of hooves is soothing. I don't even mind the smell of horses, in fact I quite like it. We enjoyed our romantic carriage ride, unlike one young lady we saw whos partner spent the entire trip on his phone. She was NOT happy!

There are several important monuments along the seafront. The most important is Cumhuriyet Meydani (republic square). There is also Alsancak square (red flag). On part of the lawns they are constructing a huge stage, everywhere there are flags, its a blaze of red. The national flag of Turkey is red with a star and sickle. Many other flags show Ataturk, founder of the Turkish republic, and its first president until his death in 1938. His picture is everywhere all over Turkey. He is still very much loved.

We need to get to the Otobus Terminal to get our bus tickets for onward travel to Cannekale. Doesn't have to be today but just need a plan. Being a bank holiday the tourist information office is closed. So we head to the nearest railway station (Alsancak Gar) to see if we can get some information from there. The man in the information kiosk is very enthusiastic, he leaves his kiosk and hurries us across the road to the dolmus. I did try to explain it doesn't need to be right this minute, but before we know it we are on the dolmus to the bus terminal! Its a interesting journey of about 40 minutes. On the way we see about 300 motorcyclists with police outriders heading into the city. There is lots of beeping, waving and flags flying. Very festive. At the bus terminal we easily purchase our tickets. There was a paniky moment when we were asked for passports (which are back at the apartment) but then the man said `Ah, English, no problem`. Phew! All we have to do is get back home then. We head for a bus stop and ask some teenage girls. Lots of giggling and I phone consulting goes on. Then they take us in hand. Right! We will take you on the first dolmus, then put you on the next dolmus. So, they abandoned their original journey and took us on ours! I never fail to be amazed at the generosity of these people. Love them. There is more than just dolmus, there are buses, a metro system and taxis are very cheap. 

Whats the occasion? 29th October is National Independance day. Cumhuriyet Bayrami.Its a very important day in the calendar, in fact it is the MOST important day of all. Its a bank holiday. Izmir celebrates in style, its like a huge street party. During the day there are parades and speeches. Flowers are laid in the square. We managed to get quite a good view of the muster area for the army and navy. I loved that they sang as they marched. Very patriotic people. The stage is for a very popular band called MFO in Gundogdu square. There are street performers, traditional music, dancing, everyone is having fun. I did check with our host to make sure it was safe to go, he said `of course, go and enjoy yourselves, everyone will be there`. Indeed everyone was. Old folks, young folks, folks with children. Singing, dancing, clapping, smiling, happy people. No fights, no muggings, no stabbings, no aggression that we could see. There was no chance to get anywhere near the stage or the seafront for that matter. So, we found a restaurant one street back for a meal. Performers were entertaining people all along the pedestrian street. People were selling balloons, flowers, almonds, mussels with lemon. The atmosphere was intoxicating. The food was, as usual, fantastic. Good, fresh and cooked to order. No menu, go to the kitchen and choose what takes your fancy. Then the fireworks start! You can feel the bangs through the pavement, the air is filled with that lovely cordite smell. The smoke turns beautiful colours. People cheer, people sing, people hug each other. Its perfectly wonderful. When we leave the restaurant, everyone wants to say goodnight. `Welcome to Turkey, please come again, hope you had fun.`  Yes, we will, and yes we did.

The next morning we headed to the seafront. You would not have known that the party had happened. There was no litter. The bins had been emptied and the streets swept. No drunks sleeping it off on the park benches. Just the stage being dismantled and the grass a bit crushed in places. Amazing.

The city is a fascinating mix of old and new. Great Turkish restaurants, but you can eat any nationality food here. We noticed a McDonalds, Burger King and KFC but they didnt seem that busy. Our last day. We head for the bazaar. It is huge. You can buy anything here. Food, clothes, jewellery, carpets, pots and pans. Very busy place. We spent a while wandering, had some lunch then walked home to pack. On the way we saw a perfect Willies jeep. That was a surprise. 

The revolving toilet seat story.

I'm not in the habit of revealing my lavatory `antics`, but this one was quite funny so I thought I would share it. Lavatories across Europe vary from luxurious to the type where you take one look and decide you can wait a bit longer! This one was luxurious in the extreme. It was in a rather swanky restaurant on the sea front. As I entered this marble and gold plated temple to the toilet, lights turned themselves on. Mirrors with candlabra each side adorned the walls above marble basins. Little pots of soap, handcreams and lotions were lined up decoratively on the dressing table. There was a choice of hot air blower, paper towels or cotton towels. Wow! On entering the cubicle more lights came on. I noticed that the door lock was was a small spring activated affair, bit mean in amongst all this oppulence I thought. The toilet seat was covered in a sleeve of film that moved round to provide a clean surface each time the system was flushed. No need to hover here. So I got myself comfortable, and the lights went out! So, its pitch black. I wave my arms about in the hope that they will activate the sensor but to no avail  (obviously the sensor must be in the basin area). So, still seated, l lean forward to try and open the door in the hope that the lights will come back on. Unfortunately I activate the flush instead and find myself swiveling in an anticlockwise direction. Now I don't even know where the door is. Finally I find toilet paper and redress myself. I activated that flush three times before finding that door. I was crying with laughter by the time I got back to Norman.

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