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Published: October 10th 2023
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A lovely breakfast at the Swisshotel Buyek Efes fueled us for a marathon day of exploration on foot in Izmir. Our hotel is literally around the corner from the second apartment we lived in when here. We easily found it as it is one building in from Attaturk Circle, a monument park honoring Mustafa Attaturk. He is recognized for bringing Turkey into the modern world. He saw a vision for Turkey that continued past his death and persists today.
We continued with a lovely stroll down the Cordon, the waterfront walk bordering the Bay of Izmir on the Aegean Sea. Our first apartment was half-way down the Cordon, and with a little memory jogging, we finally found it. We lived on the 7th floor of this building and spent hours watching city life from our balcony. Back then it included strolling musicians, dancing bears, street vendors and our most commonly used mode of transportation, horse drawn carriages. None of those exist today, having been replaced by automobiles, hoards of fishermen and families enjoying a day in the park. No one fished when we were here. The bay water was far too polluted. This is another advancement we recognized throughout Turkey
- a strong ethic toward conservation of antiquities and preservation of natural resources.
Modern windmills dot the hillsides and energy efficient lighting was everywhere. Receptacles for recycling everything exist all over the country. Turks are famous for this anyway, reusing things their ancestors used, either for the same purpose or for something new.
We enjoyed a quick snack in the Gelateria below our apartment which allowed us to taste a famous Izmir special the “Izmir Bombasi” the Izmire Bombe. A special pastry filled with, most commonly, chocolate or Nutella. It is a decadent, sinfully rich, delight. We had one and split it three ways. It would be impossible to eat one by yourself. We walked the entire Cordon, then headed to find our favorite restaurant in the day - The Fil. Fil means elephant, and why it was called that we never knew. Our favorite meal was their doner kebab. We were majorly disappointed to find it had been replaced by a cosmopolitan-type place. So, no doner for dinner.
After a brief rest back at the hotel, we headed out to explore the bazaar which is open late on Sundays. Unfortunately, we found ourselves in the bridal
section, which was huge and unnecessary for us! Starting to feel the need for dinner, we headed to the restaurant recommended by the concierge. Dave wanted fish so we went to the Iç Hasan, we thought it more than appropriate for Dave “Hasson”, my brother-in-law. The fresh fish is displayed in a case and with no menu, one is taken to the case to make your choice and tell them how you want to it prepared. Since I do not eat fish, I asked for a salad and a plate of fruit. The entire meal was outdoors, in the fresh air right on the waterfront. Mom and Dad would have loved it. I’ve included pictures of all our food (except my gorgeous fruit plate - for some reason the photo won't load) since each is prepared especially for each diner. What a special place!
We went back to the wall at sunset to pay a special tribute to Mom and Dad. This was the main purpose of our trip, to revisit all the places we lived and loved as a family. We left a special remembrance at the waterfront as we said said a special goodbye in the beautiful
setting sun.
Sharon had declared this to be a “down day”, a more restful day of less activity. Tucking into bed she texted me our record 9.1 miles of walking! A new record!
Tomorrow is Heiropolis and Pammukale. More favorites!
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