Car Hire Izmir - Mini guide to Izmir
Most coastal towns in the south of Turkey aspire to be Marmaris, its capacious harbour a popular destination and wintering location for yachts, yet Izmir in the Southern Aegean conjures up a low key charm of its own. This seaside village 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).
In terms of ancient sites there's quite a lot around Izmir. Many of the key Turkish sites of antiquity including Ephesus, Miletus, Priene, Pergamon, Aphrodisius and Pamukkale are all accessible from any of the coastal towns.
Most of your sightseeing and shopping can be done on foot in and around the Konak area in downtown Izmir, which includes the museums and main square attractions, as well as the bazaar, also known as Kemeralti.
From Konak, Alsancak is reachable on foot along the scenic waterfront. Municipal buses run regularly from the major bus hub at Konak, just in front of the Atatürk Cultural Centre and on the street below the Archaeological Museum.
The Archaeology Museum (Arkeoloji Müzesi) is a great place to get lost in Turkey’s antiquity. There’s an impressive collection of ancient and Roman artefacts recovered from area excavations, including Bergama, Iasos, Bayrakli (Izmir's original settlement), and Izmir's Agora. The museum grounds are home to site-specific installations of wondrously oversized amphoras dating to the Hellenistic period, and columns and capitals arranged around the gardens as impromptu seating.
Highlights of this coast, a pleasant day’s drive from Izmir, include Assos, a charming and secluded little village with stunning views of Lesbos and its own ruined city. Access to Assos is usually through Canakkale, an unexciting port at the narrowest point of the Dardanelles. However, Canakkale's population rockets every year as ANZAC day approaches and tourists flock there to see the battlefields of Gallipoli.
Izmir's Adnan Menderes Airport is serviced by Turkish Airlines with flights out of Istanbul and Ankara, as well as directly via a select number of international cities.
