Many legends are known about the derivation of the name of Izmir. According to the knowledge acquired from scientific studies the word "IZMIR" came from Smyrna in the ancient Ionian dialect and it was written as Smyrna in the Attican (around Athens) dialect. The word Smyrna was not Greek, it came from Anatolian root like many other names in the Aegean Region from the texts belonging to 2000 B.C. in the Kültepe settlement in Kayseri, a place called Tismyrna was come across and the (Ti) at the beginning was omitted and the city was pronounced as Smyrna. So the city was called Smyrna the early years of 3000 B.C. or late 1800 B.C. In the Turkish era the city was called Izmir.In the years of 3000 B.C. Western Anatolia was under a rich Trojan civilization influence. The settlement areas built on the Aegean coast also developed generally under the Trojan influence. The Hittites which Homer wrote about in the Iliad, were an active force and civilization in the Anatolian mountain pastures because the Trojans were allies of the Hittites and they had a big influence on the Aegean settlements. As a matter of fact Pitane (Çandarli) in the Bakirçay River basin and similar settlements were built by the Hittites. It is believed that the Amazons lived in the area between Caria and the Lydia which today is the sides of the Yamanlar Mountains, and they carried on their existence until the arrival of the Aiolos and theIons.
The Aiolos and the Ions who Fled from the Doric invasion around 1000 B.C., came from Greece and settled in Izmir and its surroundings. The important Aeol and Ionian settlements are as follows: Bergama (Pergamon), Manisa (Magnesia), Izmir (Smyrna), Urla (Klazomenai, near Cesme), Kemalpasa (Nimphaion),Cesme-Ildiri (Erythrai), Sigacik (Teos), Phokaia, Selcuk (Ephesus).
Until the 7th century B.C. Izmir got richer because of its trade with its neighbors especially Lydia. Its good neighbor relationships with Lydia lasted until the Lydians were conquered by the Persians. The Persian sovereignty ended withAlexander the Great's arrival to Anatolia in 334 B.C. In these years, in which the Hellenistic period began, a new settlement was formed around Kadifekale (Mount Pagos) and its city walls belong to the Hellenistic period and have undergone many restorations in the following periods.The city, which was tied to the Pergamon Empire in 197 B.C., passed into the control of the Roman Empire after a short period between 27 B.C. and 324 A.D. Roman control transformed Izmir into an important trade and harbor city. For the west, Izmir was seen as the center of Asia. In this period the Agora, Acropolis, Theater, Stadium, and constructions that did not remain up to now, like the libraries and the fountains, were built during this period.
The two roads stretching from Kadifekale (Mt. Pagos) to Ephesus and Sardis were built during the Roman period. In 324 A.D. after the Roman Empire was divided into two, Izmir had been taken by the Byzantine Empire and Ephesus especially was an important cultural and religious center in the classic Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. An important development was not seen during the Byzantine period.
Even though Izmir came into the possession of the Hun Emperor Attila, this authority did not last long and the city re-taken the Byzantines.
Kutalmisoglu Suleyman Shah in 1076 was the first conqueror of Izmir by the Seljuk Turks. In the period that the famous sea admiral Çaka Bey was appointed as the mayor of Izmir; Urla, Foça and the Islands of Sakiz (Chios), Samos and Istanköy (Cos) were conquered. After Çaka Bey’s death the city and its surroundings passed into the possession of the Byzantines in 1098. Then Izmir was taken by the knights at the time that Istanbul was invaded by theCrusaders. In 1320 the Turkish sailor Umur Bey returned Izmir from the Catholic knights and added it to the Turkish land.
In the period of the principalities, Izmir and its nearby surrounding were under the reign of the Saruhanogullari principality. Pergamon (Bergama) and its surroundings were tied to Karesiogullari principality. The reign of Izmir and its surroundings passed into the Ottoman hands completely in 1426.
The following Turkish architectural constructions are distinguished examples of the Turkish culture built during the Ottoman period, they have adorned Izmir for centuries: The Hisar Mosque, The Sadirvan Mosque, the Hatuniye Mosque, the Konak Yali Mosque, the Kemeralti Mosque, the Kestane Bazaar Mosque, the Izmir Clock Tower, the Kizlaragasi Han (Inn - commercial building), the Mirkelamoglu and Cakaloglu Inns and other inns (trade places for spending the night), Bedesten (Ottoman’s special trade constructions).
Beginning with the 16th century Izmir had an important place in the world trade. There was an increase in the consulates of foreign countries especially due to the capitulations that the Ottoman government provided for Europe. It is known that these consulates participated in the trade activities and each anchored their ships in the bay.
A castle was built on the narrowest point of the bay to check the ships entering and leaving the Izmir Gulf. New constructions were built in the second half of the century to help developing of the city’s trade. Among these constructions, the most important examples are the customs building in the 19th century, the sectors of packing, insurance, stock and banking.In the years of the struggle of Liberation, Izmir underwent a great wreckage with huge destructions and fires. With the driving away of the Greek army by the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on September 9th 1922, Izmir started to become a modern city of the young Turkish Republic and developed this character more everyday.
Today, Izmir is the third largest city of Turkey with a population of 4 million (2012). It's a modern city and one of the main hubs for exporting various agricultural and industrial products from its port. The 23rd Universiade Summer Games were held in Izmir between 11 - 21 August 2005. There are several interesting small towns and holiday resorts around Izmir such as Foca, Cesme, Seferihisar, Teos, Urla, Gumuldur, Selcuk and so on.
MUSEUMS IN IZMIR
Archaeological Museum
The modern museum, located on Halil Rifat street in Konak district, was opened in 1984 after being open to public in different areas of the city since 1927. Exhibition halls, laboratories, warehouses, photography rooms, libraries, and conference halls cover an area of 5000 square meters, with over 1500 artifacts on display. The exhibition is organized in different floors and halls containing findings from ancient city of Smyrna as well as from surrounding ancient sites such as Iasos, Pitane (Candarli), Pergamon, Myrina and Kyme (Aliaga), Ephesus, Larissa and Gryneion (Menemen), Kolophon, Teos (Seferihisar), Klazomenai (Urla), Foca, Metropolis, and Lebedos. The museum is open everyday except Mondays.
Ethnographical Museum
Next to the Archaeological museum, there is an Ethnographical Museum with cultural objects from daily social life ofAnatolian people housed in a 19th century three-storey Neoclassical building which was used as a hospital and seniors day care in the late 1800's. It was opened as a museum in 1984 after moving artifacts here from Ataturk's Mansion. These artifacts are displayed in the first two floors, 3rd floor is reserved for storage, laboratory, photographic studio and administrative offices. The museum displays many models of extinct or near extinct handicrafts due to the industrialization, such as; tinsmith, clog making, pottery, blue bead making, wood imprinting, carpet weaving, rope making, feltsmithery and saddlery.
Ataturk Museum
The Neoclassic style four-storey masonry building on Ataturk Avenue (1. Kordon) in Alsancak district was built by the end of 19th century by a carpet merchant as a resident. After the abandon of the building in 1922 during the War of Liberation it was used by the Turkish Army as its headquarters. After 1923 the army left the building and it was converted into a hotel, named as Naim Palas. During their visit to Izmir on 16th of June 1926, Ataturk and Ismet Pashastayed here for a while. In the same year Izmir Municipality purchased the building and presented to Ataturk as a gift, so Ataturk always stayed in this residence during his visits to Izmir between 1930 and 1934. After His death in 1938 the building was inherited by his sister Makbule Baysan and in 1940 IzmirMunicipality expropriated the building in order to convert it to a museum. It was opened to the public in 1941. The museum contains some furniture and rugsused by Ataturk, some of his personal objects, books and writing sets.
Ahmet Piristina Museum of Metropolitan History and Archive
The Museum of Metropolitan History and Archive is located in the old Fire Department office which was restored lately. The museum is dedicated to Mr. Ahmet Piristina, former Head of Izmir Municipality who died in 2004, and was opened by the Municipality only few months before his unexpected death. This very well organized museum contains photographs, drawings and explanations about the history of Izmir since the times of Smyrna, from 3000 BC until our days. Last section of the exhibitions is reserved to the photographs of big fires in Izmir as the museum is housed inside an old Fire Department building. There are many permanent and temporary exhibitions, conference halls, research rooms, a restaurant and a cafeteria inside the building.
Selcuk Yasar Museum of Arts
Named after Selcuk Yasar, one of the well-known businessman of Izmir, this is the first paintings museum from a private sector opened in 1985 and is located in an old Izmir mansion on Cumhuriyet Boulevard at Alsancak district. There are various paintings on display, some belonging to Selcuk Yasar himself and some to the prize winners in the DYO Painting Contests held since 1967. The museum is open between 10:00-19:00 except on Sundays.
Museum of History and Art
The museum was opened to public in 2004 at Kulturpark for the exhibition of artifacts collected during excavations in and near Izmir. The displays are grouped in three main sections; stone works, ceramic works, valuable item works. On the entrance floor stone works such as statues from Archaic, Classic, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods are exhibited. A display of sarcophagi and steles in this floor show the burial culture of Hellenistic and Romantimes. Sculptures, inscriptions and friezes of gladiators and Olympic games can also be found in this section. Ceramic works section has a very rich collection of this kind of objects covering a time range between Prehistoric and Byzantine period. In the valuable items section, gold, silver, bronze, and precious stone objects are on display, starting from 6th century BC until the Ottoman period. Especially coins and jewelery are the most interesting artifacts of this section.
Museum of Arts and Sculpture
The museum was opened as a gallery in 1952 inside the Kulturpark. There are many paintings, statues and ceramic works on display. Most of the works belong to Turkish artists, and some to foreign artists from different periods. The museum also contains a library with many books on arts and art history open to all students and researchers. There are classes and courses for design, painting, ceramics, water coloring, sculpturing, and traditional handicrafts in the workshop, these are open to primary school students at the weekends. Those who follow these arts courses for two years, receive a certificate at the end.
Railroad Museum
It's located in a four-floor stone building across the Alsancak train station. In several halls, you can find an art gallery and exhibitions of standard tools and equipment used in trains and stations, as well as uniforms of the personnel from the early days of Turkish Railways. Occasionally there are training and research workshops as well. During the late Ottoman period, the construction of railroads were privileged to foreign companies because of the fact that theOttoman Government was in huge dept to those countries.
Museum of Commercial History
This is the first commercial history museum in Turkey established by Izmir Chamber of Commerce (IZTO) inside their structure in Pasaport neighborhood. The entrance to the museum is free of charge. At the entrance you can notice a model of a trading ship of 1st century AD as Smyrna was always on trade routes, showing how amphorae were stored in commercial ships in the old times. To the left, there is a model of Izmir and many displays containing ceramics, terracotta objects, statuettes, metal weights, oil lamps, glassware, seals, and gold, silver and bronze coins exhibited in chronological order dating back to prehistoric, archaic, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine eras. On the walls, you can enjoy descriptions, maps and photographs of ancient land and sea trading routes around Smyrna, from past until today. To the right of the museum hall, weights, balances, calculators, gold and silver coins from the Ottoman period are displayed. There are also many photographs depicting the commercial life at Izmir from late Ottoman and early Republic periods.
Bahcesehir College Museum of Science
This is the second science museum of Turkey, after the museum in Istanbul. It's a new museum opened with the collaboration of Karsiyaka Municipality and Bahcesehir college, a private school in Turkey. The aim of the museum is to attract everybody from 7 to 70 years who have an interest for the science, helping them to interact with various scientific tests conducted by the specialists.
The Museum of Science is located at Mavisehir neighborhood in Karsiyaka district. It's open between 10:00 - 18:00 everyday except on Mondays. Advance reservation is required for group visits.
Umran Baradan Museum of Toys and Games
This is the second museum of toys in Turkey, after the museum in Istanbul. It's fairly a new museum opened with the collaboration of Konak Municipality and Mrs. Umran Baradan, a world famous Turkish ceramics artist. The museum is located in Varyant neighborhood of Konak district, in a mansion donated by Umran Baradan for this purpose.
There are about one thousand pieces including wooden toys, small soldiers, miniature horses, toy cars, ships, tops, babies and many other old toys displayed in the museum, played by the Turkish children in the past, some of them dating back to 1860's. Meanwhile in the courtyard there are medium sized statues of cartoon characters such as The Smurfs, Tom and Jerry, Mickey Mouse, Tweety, Buggs Bunny, Keloglan (bold boy, a Turkish character), Pinocchio, andNasreddin Hodja.
The Toys and Games Museum is open everyday except on Mondays, between 08:00 - 17:00 during winter months and between 08:30 - 17:30 during summer months. There is a symbolic entrance fee for the museum.
House of Inonu
The house of Ismet Inonu, a statesman and one of the former presidents of Turkey, where he spent his summer holidays during his young ages, is converted into a small museum where his personal objects and photographs are displayed today. It's an old Greek house with two floors, rennovated and opened as a museum in 1999.
The museum is located on a narrow street with steps at Ikicesmelik neighborhood in Konak district. It's open from Tuesday till Thursdays and on Saturdays, between 10:00-12:00 and 13:00-17:00.
Highlights of Izmir
Clock Tower
The clock tower at Konak Square is Izmir's landmark today. It was built by architect Raymond Charles Pere in 1901 to commemorate 25th year of enthronement of Ottoman sultan Abdulhamit I. Architect Pere was born in 1854 in Izmir from a French Levantine family, keeping with the tradition among Levantines of the time to educate their children in Europe. After hiseducation as an Architect in Europe he came back to Izmir and married with the daughter of another Levantine family and spent his entire life at this beautiful Aegean city until his death in 1929. The clock mechanism was a gift from German Kaiser Wilhelm II and never broken since over 100 years. The clock tower is 25 meters tall and consist of four levels on an octagonal plan. The north African style column capitals and the filling in of the horseshoe arches show the architectural character of the tower. There are fountains on four sides of the tower.
Agora
Agora, ancient market place, was first built in the 4th century BC to the north of Pagos (Kadifekale) where Smyrna was moved after Bayrakli. 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. Northern and western stoas have been excavated including their basements, and a large 165 x 28 m basilica has been found on the northern stoa. One of the main streets of Smyrna city was cutting through the agora dividing it in two equal parts, and there were entrance gates at both ends. The excavation works are still ongoing at the agora for the basilica and a part of the eastern stoa.
Tepekule (Smyrna)
First settlement of ancient Smyrna dates back to 3000 BC. During the excavations in Bayrakli district, these settlements were discovered at Tepekule area in the north-eastern part of Izmir. In the Ionic dialect the city was called Smurne, and in the Attica as Smyrna, but it's also believed that this word could be a localAnatolian dialect. According to the Greek geographer Strabo, the name was coming from an Amazonian queen. This small peninsula of Tepekule had a grid plan and a small harbor considering the Hellenes were mainly involved with the sea. At around 205 meters high hill of Bayrakli there are some ruins belonging to the tomb of king Tantalus, a mortal son of Zeus, from 7th century BC. Phrygians and Lydians had their influence on Smyrna between 8th-7th centuries BC. The famous writer and poet Homer was born in Smyrna at around 8th century BC. In the 6th century Persians captured the city, which was freed by Alexander The Great in the 4th century BC. Old Smyrna lived its heydays until 4th century BC when its harbor was silted up because of Meles river and floods, therefore it was moved to the location of Pagos mountain.
Kadifekale (Pagos)
The city on the Pagos hills overlooking the gulf which was founded in the 4th century BC by Lysimachos, one of the generals of Alexander The Great, today stands at the location between Kadifekale and inner harbor of Izmir. According to a legend, while Alexander The Great was hunting at the woods of Pagos hill he fall asleep under a tree at the Nemesis holly area. In his dream he saw two Nemesis telling him to found a new city at this location and that its citizens would have a very prosperous and happy life. After waking up, Alexander refers his dream to Apollonian oracle priest and they comment him to built his city on the hillside of Pagos, than Lysimachos makes this dream real in 302 BC. But besides the legends, it's more reasonable today to believe that the real reason of the foundation of the city at this spot would probably because of the military and commercial needs of the era developing on the land and sea. The city went under Roman control in 133 BC thus Roman and Byzantine influences can be seen on the Acropolis wall ruins of Kadifekale. There was also a defense wall starting from the Acropolis and extending to the direction of Basmane district (old Sardis road), and another one to the direction of Esrefpasa district (oldEphesus road). Remains of aquaducts, stadium, theater and agora can be seen around Pagos hill. The theater on the northern slope overlooking the gulf offered great views and had a capacity of 16 thousand seats.
The castle which we see today along with its five towers and southern walls, was restored several times by Byzantines, Seljuks, and finally Ottomans. Kadifekale was abandoned until 18th century and many stones from ancient buildings were used as construction material. After 18th century people started to settle again and in the last 50 years invaded by irregular housing. The castle at 186 meters above sea level is one of the highest points of the city which offers a bird-eye view of Izmir.
Aquaducts
These Roman aquaducts were built on the Meles (Kemer) river to bring fresh water to the city. They're from late Roman period and double arches were built by bricks and stones stick together with Roman mortar. Same aquaducts were restored and used also by Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans. Today only few sections left from a long aquaduct which can be seen at Sirinyer (old Kizilcullu) district driving from the airport to the city center.
Kizlaragasi Han
This typical Ottoman building in Kemeralti neighborhood was built by Kizlaragasi Haci Besir Aga in the 18th century as a caravanserai. The Bedesten (Inn) is a square-shaped and two-level building, the large courtyard used to have a small pool (Sadirvan in Turkish) in the middle which doesn't exist today. Upper floor had rooms for merchants to overnight after leaving their camels and stuff downstairs in the courtyard. Around the courtyard there were shops and rooms where servants of the tradesman used to sleep. Kizlaragasi Han, being also close to the port, was an important trades point in Izmir until the developing of transportation technologies and opening of new trade routes, at certain times it even served as a local stock exchange. After 19th century the Inn was mainly used for storage of the goods instead of caravans' stop.
Kizlaragasi Han was restored in 1993 as a tourist spot, despite it's off-tourist route, and converted into a handicrafts sales center. There is a small cafeteria in the open-air courtyard where you can relax and have a Turkish tea or coffee.
Hisar Mosque
This mosque is one of the oldest monuments of the city built by Aydinoglu Yakup Bey towards the end of 16th century, officially between 1592-1598. It has a central dome supported by eight pillars and smaller domes around it. The open courtyard (late-comers courtyard or Son Cemaat in Turkish) is surrounded by a gallery of seven domes. There are also two small fountains used for the ablutions before the prayers. It has one minaret with a single balcony (Serefe). Themosque was restored several times during 19th and 20th centuries thus influence of European decorative elements can be seen especially on column capitals, window frames, outer walls and on Mihrab and Mimbar. The mosque stands in the Kemeralti market area.
Kemeralti Market
The historical Kemeralti neighborhood in Konak district is the best known local shopping market in Izmir. Originally it was built around 17th century right behind the harbor and expanded in the following centuries as the port was silted in. Original shops were made of wood or bricks, some covered with domes. The name Kemeralti (under arches) comes from the fact that there were streets covered with arches with all the shops underneath. Besides small shops, there were many inns as well. Starting from 20th century it became a shopping area of mainly middle class people as it offered very reasonable prices.
Today, besides vaulted and domed shops of the past, here you can find modern business centers, stores, movie theaters, and cafeterias. All kinds of traditional Turkish handicrafts, ceramic ware, wooden objects, clothing, leather and kilims are sold in the markets, including food and fish for your daily shopping. Kemeralti consists one of the most frequented neighborhoods of the city today, especially by local people.
On Anafartalar Street in Kemeralti, there is an old marble fountain called Donertas Sebili, built in 1814 by Osmanzade Seyyid İsmail Rahmi Efendi. The name derives from a turning marble column in its corner. The fountain has a square plan and a brick-tiled dome roof. There are two windows and a small door which was giving access to its cistern.
At the entrance of Kemeralti from Konak, one can see Mayors' Building (Hukumet Konagi) which was built between 1868-1872. This building occupies an important role in the history of the city; when Turkish Army entered in Izmir during the War of Liberation, the Turkish Flag was raised on its balcony on September 9th, 1922, marking the liberation day of Izmir. The building was restored after suffering a big fire many years ago.
Havra Street
Havra is an important street of historical Kemeralti neighborhood. Local people come here to get their fresh vegetables, fruits, fish and meat. The street gets its name from many Jewish synagogues (Havra in Turkish) built here. There are nine Synagogues on this street but only four are operative today, Talmud Torah is the oldest of nine in this street.
Beth Israel Synagogue
This synagogue was built in 1905 by Nisim Levi in the Karatas quarter where an important Jewish community lived at the beginning of the 20th Century. The decoration went on for many years because of economical problems until 1950's. At the entrance of the synagogue, on the upper-right corner, there is the opening date of 5668 according to the Jewish calendar, and on the upper-left corner there is Shaday (God) name inscripted. The interiors of the synagogue are beautiful, wood works are very impressive, and there are marble slabs with the names of the donors. Lower floor is reserved for men and has a capacity of up to 600 people, and upper floor is reserved for ladies. Surprisingly, the Hakodesh (holy cabinet for Sefer Torah) is not to the east but to the south of the synagogue.
Beth Israel is one of the two most frequented synagogues used today for important ceremonies, other one is a new synagogue located in Alsancak district where the main Jewish Community of the city now lives. Many other synagogues are rarely used.
Anglican Church
The first Anglican church in Izmir was built around 1625 by British Levantines of Smyrna. A second church was built in 1843 for the use of British living in Smyrna and named for St. John the Evangelist, completed in 1899 with a capacity of around 150 seats. It has beautiful wood carvings, stained glass windows and an impressive organ. A Vicarage built next to the church is now used as the British Consulate of Izmir. The church is located across Alsancak train station.
Another Anglican church in Izmir is the church of St. Mary Magdalene which was built around 1858 by British Levantines again, at Bournabat (today's Bornova). St. Mary Magdalene is located within the grounds of Ege University in Bornova. This church is closed except special occasions or scheduled services.
Saint Polycarp Church
This is the oldest Christian church in Izmir which was built in 1625 with the permission of Sultan Suleyman of the Ottoman Empire and by the wish of King of France Louis 13th. It was dedicated to St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who was martyred by Romans in 155 AD, at the age of 86, in the stadium nearKadifekale. The church was badly damaged during earthquakes and fires in the 17th century, and was restored each time. Inside the church, next to the altar, there is a self-portrait of Raymond Pere, Levantine architect of the Clock Tower in Konak district.
Asansor (Elevator)
The historical Asansor built in 1907 on Mithatpasa Street, and Dario Moreno street running to the Asansor, are interesting places to visit in Izmir. Before its construction, a stairway with 155 steps was used to climb to the Halil Rifat Pasa district 50 meters above. This elevator tower has joined the two districts with the aid of two elevators. Besides its breathtaking panorama of the city on the Aegean Sea especially at sunset or at night, a restaurant today is serving to its customers.
Near the Asansor, there are Usakizade Latife Hanim House and Beth Israel Synagogue worth a visit. The House witnessed the wedding of Ataturk and Latife Hanim in 1923, and today is used as a school and museum.
Alsancak District
Alsancak district, called Punto in old times, is one of the centers of Izmir and an elegant and exquisite residential area. The neighborhood is stretching from the waterfront, called Kordon which is lined up with nice bars and fine restaurants, to the inland. Along the waterfront it has a nice pedestrian promenade where one can enjoy fine shops and fine dining without the traffic noise, looking at the Aegean.
In the old times, Alsancak was a favorite place of Levantines, Greeks and Armenians. Many buildings and churches with their authentic architecturesremaining from these years can be seen in the backstreets. Today, some of these buildings have been renovated and used as entertainment or cultural places.Ataturk Museum, Museum of History and Arts, Selcuk Yasar Museum of Arts, Railroads Museum, Museum of Arts and Sculpture, Museum of Commercial History, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Museum of Metropolitan History and Archive can be found in this district.
Near Alsancak, there is Kulturpark, a place most frequented by local people with its artistic and cultural activities, International fair, tea gardens, restaurants, zoo and parks.
Alsancak train station was built in 1858 in a colonial architecture style. Trains to Aydin, Denizli and Buca departs from here. There is also a busy port in Alsancak district where commercial and cruise ships dock. There are regular ferry connections between Alsancak and Karsiyaka districts.
Karsiyaka District
Karsiyaka district stands to the north shore of the Izmir Gulf and is one of the residential centers of the city. The name literally means "Opposite Shore" inTurkish, as location-wise it is. The residents of this fine district are so proud of living here that they even consider themselves as living in another town; they don't say that they live in Izmir, but in Karsiyaka.
The district has many old houses and mansions with large gardens, but lately many new apartments have been build along the waterfront. St. Helen Church at Karsiyaka is the very first Catholic Church here, having a former name of Cordelia. It was built around 1904.
At the shoulders of the city there is Yamanlar Peak, highest hill of the city with a crater lake. Birds Paradise Natural Reserve (Kus Cenneti) is next to Karsiyaka, where there are over 200 bird species including many domestic, summer immigrant, winter immigrant, and transit species pulling for a stop here.
Izmir Wildlife Park
Izmir Wildlife Park is opened in 2008 by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality at Sasali area, near Karsiyaka district. The park contains many species in a large artificial natural habitat where visitors can observe wild life and animals. The Park covers a huge area (425 acres) where visitors are required to walk; use of vehicles are not allowed in the park area.
There are lions, pumas, tigers, elephants, monkeys, giraffes, zebras, camels, deers, wild goats, gazelles, wolves, bears, crocodiles, birds of pray, parrots and so many others in their appropriate zones. New species and animals will be brought in during the coming years. There are also children playgrounds, cafeterias, watch towers, education halls and several lavatories to facilitate the visit of people.
Izmir Wildlife Park accepts visitors everyday of the week including weekends and religious holidays between 09:00 - 18:00. There is a symbolic entrance fee to the Park, in order to attract more people for making them more aware and interested in the conservation of nature life. Pets are not permitted in the Wildlife Park.
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