Izmir: A Modern and Traditional City

Izmir is the city that our group had the pleasure of experiencing for three days. Some of this time went to visiting the sites of Smyrna, the ancient city found in the book of Revelation, which now mostly lies in its grave underneath the modern city of Izmir. This city is the third largest city in Turkey with over four million people, ranking behind the cities of Istanbul and Ankara. It is located on the west coast of Turkey, in the middle of the country’s range of latitude. The city is also incredibly vast, spanning over twenty-eight thousand square miles! Instead of having many skyscrapers and very tall buildings that house the population like in the U.S., Izmir is built outward over seemingly countless hills farther than the eye can see.

The reason for the large area of cities like Izmir and Istanbul is credited to Alexander the Great. When he conquered western Anatolia, which is the name of the land that Turkey resides on, he wanted to make the cities of the land strong and powerful since they were near the edges of his empire and would be under threat of opposing forces. In these times, having more land meant having more power. This caused Alexander to order the cities to expand as far and wide as possible, and the trend continued to into the formation of the modern cities that travelers enjoy today.

The Market Place in Izmir

I learned much about the city from the people I spent my home-stay with, in the district of Karsiyaka. Ercan, my home-stay “father”, explained to me that Izmir is a large trading city. This is because of it having the second largest port in Turkey that leads the country in quantity of exports every year. These exports often include dry fruits like apricots and raisons, leathers, and textiles, such as carpets, that are shipped all around the world. Ercan continued to express that you will not find as many high-end materials to buy like you would in Istanbul but what you will find are many experiences and great food, especially near its large harbor.

To see the beauty of this harbor, our group used the first elevator ever built in Izmir. The elevator was built decades ago in order to replace two hundred and fifty steps that civilians of a district elevated higher in the city would have to walk every day. The large elevator is still often used by the people of that higher area of the city to travel down to the lower main districts. Its height provides for a wonderful view of the harbor and the entrance to the gulf of Izmir.

A view of the harbor from the elevator

While looking at the harbor, you can see multiple Turkish military destroyer ships cruising through the water. The military presence, like many places in Turkey, is quite common. This is because of the size of Turkey’s military, ranking as the second largest in the world, falling only behind our own United States in military strength.

A military boat in the harbor.

Izmir is located on a fault line, which makes earthquakes common there. During our time in the city, there was a small earthquake that lightly shook the city. However, most of our group that was walking outside had no idea about the event and only people in stores and cafes could see its effects. This small earthquake did not do any harm to anyone or damage to the city, and most people had no concern over it at all. However, earthquakes can be a deadlier occurrence, especially for certain poor people of the city. Decades ago, in minute parts of the city that hold the very poor, neighborhoods of buildings were built in just a couple days at a time. These buildings, obviously very poorly built, are notorious for collapsing during any earthquake with significant force, often killing their residents. The government is currently trying to move these people to newer, safer houses and to destroy the old ones that are unsafe and are also covering archeological sites of Smyrna.

Our group was able to spend a lot of time in the heart of Izmir, visiting towns like Konak and Alsancak that have very different atmospheres. We spent hours shopping in both of these areas in order to purchase authentic Turkish items and experience shopping in a bazaar. In Konak is where we spent hours in a bazaar, searching through thousands of shops that packed every corner of the streets. These shops held wide ranges of items consisting of 3 lira bracelets and trinkets to diamonds larger than my head. The shop owners were very aggressive, calling out to you as you walked by or even following down the street and waiting for you outside other shops to continue to try and lure you to their shops. Alsancak was very different. Being one of the wealthiest districts of Izmir, it has a more western feel to it. The streets are set up in a typical western style just like a wealthy part of any city like Washington D.C. or Paris. The shops consisted of western stores like typical book shops and Starbucks, as well as high-end wedding dress shops and clothing apparel stores.

Wandering around the shopping district of Izmir

The western atmosphere of the city is symbolized on its waterfront. Here, a statue of Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, with other Turks on horseback are displayed riding toward one side of the harbor. This is the west side, symbolizing Turkey’s destiny of transformation from an Eastern identity to a future of Western living.

The waterfront statue of Ataturk and friends pointing westward

Emre, Ercan’s brother-in-law, expressed very passionate positivity toward Izmir, repeatedly stating the many reasons of why Izmir was the best city in Turkey. He would talk of how the people of city are much friendlier than other citizens of cities like Istanbul, which is a much more cut-throat town. Likewise, Izmir is less dangerous than other cities, having people walk in parks at times of night that would mandate clear paths elsewhere. Emre especially emphasized Izmir’s secular culture. Although most of the city’s residents are Muslim, the majority of these are very secular, or how Emre describes, “modern” Muslims. Additionally, many of the nation’s Christian and Jewish populations live here as well.

This all shows the modernity of the city that has developed throughout the country, especially the western end of it. Izmir is a city that gives a modern atmosphere like Istanbul but also provides a larger blend of Turkish culture from being further into the land of Anatolia. This blend allows the city to be a nice stop for a traveler to get a sense of both the modern and traditional side of the country.
Taylor Schock