İzmir & the North Aegean
One of Turkey's most impressive archaeological sites, Bergama's acropolis is dramatically sited on a hill to the northeast of the town centre. There's…
Must-see attractions in İzmir & the North Aegean
İzmir
This museum is overlooked by many visitors to the city, who do themselves a great disservice in the process. Spread over three pavilions, it is one of the…
İzmir
A labyrinthine bazaar stretching from Konak Sq through to the ancient Agora, Kemeraltı dates back to the 17th century and is home to shops, eateries,…
İzmir
It’s difficult to imagine life in İzmir without its iconic seafront kordon (promenade), which stretches north from Cumhuriyet Meydanı to Alsancak and…
İzmir & the North Aegean
The architectural genius of Mimar Sinan is well and truly on show at this exquisite mosque, which was commissioned by Sultan Murat III and constructed…
İzmir & the North Aegean
The evocative ruins of this ancient city, which was one of the 12 cities of the Ionian League, are spread over a low hilly isthmus now used as farmland. A…
Ayvalık
Ayvalık’s old town is a joy to explore. A maze of cobbled streets east of the liman, it is full of market squares, atmospheric cafes, Greek Orthodox…
İzmir & the North Aegean
The Asklepion may not be as dramatic as the Acropolis, but in some ways it is even more extraordinary. One of the most important healing centres of the…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Scattered around the village of Sartmustafa (or Sart), this archaeological site is a rewarding day trip from İzmir (80km away). It and Manisa can easily…
İzmir
Legend has it that in the 4th century Alexander the Great chose this site on Mt Pagos as the location for Smyrna’s acropolis. Nothing remains of the Greek…
İzmir
Dating from the end of the 4th century BC, Smyrna's ancient agora was ruined in an earthquake in AD 178 but soon rebuilt by order of the Roman emperor…
İzmir
Surrounded by popular coffeehouses, this mosque in the Kemeraltı Market is the largest in the city and dates from 1597. The interior is quintessentially…
Çeşme
Çeşme's majestic Genoese-built fortress dates from 1508 and was later repaired by order of Sultan Beyazıt II, son of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, in order…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Boasting a small but impressive collection of artefacts, Bergama's museum is well worth a visit. On exhibit are reliefs from the Acropolis, including a…
İzmir & the North Aegean
The cathedral-sized Red Hall, sometimes called the Red Basilica, is thought to have been built by the Romans as a temple to the Egyptian gods Serapis and…
İzmir
Built in the early 17th century, this Catholic church is the oldest still-functioning Christian house of worship in the city. Its survival during the 1922…
İzmir & the North Aegean
This impressive site in the village of Gülpınar includes a partially reconstructed 2nd-century-BC Temple to Apollo, two Roman baths complexes that were…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Located on the coastal slope of Mt Ida, the Greek city of Antandros was established in the 7th century BC and was famous for its dockyards and harbours…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Scattered around the village of Dalyan on the coastal road between Geyikli and Gülpinar, these ruins are all that is left of an ancient city founded in…
İzmir
On a pedestrianised stretch of Cumhuriyet Bulvarı, this wide plaza, named after the prominent Ottoman-era Government House, built in 1872, to the east,…
İzmir
Built as a carpet merchant's residence between 1875 and 1880, this stately white building ended up in state hands after the shocking events of September…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Built in 540 BC on top of a 238m-high hill overlooking the Gulf of Edremit, this temple with its squat Doric columns has undergone a reconstruction that…
İzmir
The 1922 fire destroyed much of the town centre between Alsancak and Basmane, which had been a Greek neighbourhood for centuries. Today the area contains…
Alibey Kudar Etnografya Galerisi
İzmir & the North Aegean
The jumble of objects at this privately operated museum below the village of Tahtakuşlar provides an insight into the history of the local Turkmen…
İzmir & the North Aegean
A heavily restored theatre and the remains of the ancient city walls can be seen below the agora; the theatre is accessed via a gate on the winding road…
İzmir
Housed in a splendid stone building that once functioned as a hospital, this museum showcases the arts, crafts and customs of İzmir. Dioramas, displays,…
İzmir
Named after Atatürk’s beloved mother, who died in İzmir in 1923, this 50m-long, 307-tonne ferry was built in 1987 and sailed in İstanbul until early 2014,…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Commissioned by Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, the wife of Sultan Selim I and mother of Süleyman the Magnificent, this mosque was built in 1522 and is part of a…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Tracing the history of medicine across the globe, this ambitious museum in the grounds of the Sultan Mosque occupies a handsome bimarhane (mental hospital…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Next to the entrance to the Temple of Athena, this poorly maintained 14th-century mosque is a simple structure – a dome on squinches set on top of a…
İzmir
Occupying a handsome 1906 building that functioned as the French consulate until 2010, this arts centre hosts temporary exhibitions with an Aegean accent…
Ayvalık
This erstwhile Greek Orthodox cathedral, built in 1844 but never used as a place of worship, was completely renovated in 2013 and positively shimmers in…
İzmir
This restored Ottoman-built bedesten (warehouse) dates from 1744 and is similar to the İç (Inner) Bedesten in İstanbul's famous Grand Bazaar. It's…
İzmir
One of Kemeraltı's most interesting pockets, this stretch of produce stalls links the centre of the bazaar with the Agora and the eastern stretch of…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Austrian winemaker Oliver Gareis is the driving force behind the Gareis family's vineyard and winery on Bozcaada, and his vintages are winning fans across…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Housed in the magnificently restored Taksiyarhis Church (Church of the Archangels), a Greek Orthodox church built in 1873 and now painted in a distinctive…
İzmir & the North Aegean
It is generally thought that Bozcaada’s colossal fortress dates to Byzantine times, but it has been significantly rebuilt by the Venetians, Genoese and…
Ayvalık
Built in 1790 as the Greek Orthodox church of Ayios Yorgis and converted to a mosque in 1923, this lovely building has three naves and three apses and…
İzmir
Housed in a fire station built by the British in 1923, this small museum mounts changing displays on İzmir’s history. It is named after Ahmet Piriştina, a…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Housed in an old olive-oil factory, this unassuming but interesting museum explains the process of making olive oil and illustrates the product's many…
