Beş yildiz. Why? Because THIS is the symbol of Izmir. A…read morecity that I fell in love with back in 2007. It's located in the municipality of Konak. Pretty much all the financial areas and government buildings are in that area. The clock is super old. Like 1901 old. If you're in the 35 (Izmir's regional code) you should take a look.

Old landmark area of the Çeşme İzmir region. Very quaint area with beautiful stone walkways and…read morebuildings. Plenty of little cafe and boutiques for coffee, tea & souvenirs.

We took a private tour with another couple with whom we cruise. It was fantastic! Our guide…read moreBarbaros drove us by the upper part of Ephesus, which we saw only from the car. We did not walk this section due to time constraints and our advanced age. Sad, but true. We did hear about the upper part as we drove past it. Our guide Barbaros explained that 90% of Ephesus is not the original city built by the Macedonians. What we see today was built by the Romans. We drove past a sign for the Grotto of the 7 Sleepers, which he explained to us. These 7 slept for 100 years and awoke to new rulers! Perhaps another trip will take us there. We arrived at the lower part of Ephesus, which Barbaros tells us was first excavated 100 years ago during WWI. He explains that today 85% of Ephesus is under the soil, unexcavated! Once inside, our guide showed us the map of where we are and how it has changed. Our first stop was at the Great Theatre, where concerts are performed in this century. My favorite part was when we came to the third largest Library in the world, of its time. Sadly, no books remain. Just memories. Despite my age, I climbed up the stairs, with help from my husband. Note to singles: marry someone younger! One person in our group wanted to see the public toilets, and they were fascinating. We saw hole after hole, with each hole almost on top of the next. Underneath was a drainage system, to wash away bodily waste. When asked about the bodily waste, our guide told us they used sticks with sponges on the end that they dipped into the water in front of them before wiping their behinds. These public toilets are next to the Roman baths, which seemed appropriate. We walked to the modern museum, which was free with Ephesus tickets. We got headsets, programmed for English. In each of the three rooms we entered, we saw immersive films. The films educated us about the Gods and Ephesus. It was beautiful and overwhelming. It was also air conditioned, which was nice on this hot day! We exited through a bookstore, purchasing bookmarks for the many books we read. As we walked to exit Ephesus, we spotted more cats. They seem to love their lives here. This tour was educational and fun, and we know that when we return we will want to see the parts that we missed. We'll be older, but we'll not have to see this part again.

Ephesus is a historic landmark in Turkiye, founded around 600 BCE. Originally an ancient Greek…read morecity, it became under Roman rule in 129 BCE. Ephesus remained the most important city of the Byzantine Empire in Asia after Constantinople in the 5th and 6th centuries. Ephesus commanded the west end of a trade route to Asia so it was an important port city in its heyday. It boasted a Temple to Artemis, a Temple to Hadrian, a Library of Celsus, the massive Oedon Theatre, the last known home of the Virgin Mary, and some of the earliest Christian churches. Mark Antony was welcomed by Ephesus when he was proconsul and in 33 BC with Cleopatra when he gathered his fleet of 800 ships before the battle of Actium with Octavius. Ephesus is an ancient city with much historical significance. When we visited with our tour group, we were given a quick overview, entered the state-of-the-art museum, and explored the grounds. The site is massive. The ancient ruins are in fairly good condition considering and it is still an active archeological site. When you visit, marvel at the expansive stone lined streets of the agora, peer up at the arches, and wonder at how far humankind has come over the centuries.

Neat ruin site. Admission covered by museum Turkey pass. Not a ton of interpretive content on…read moresite so read background before visiting. Parking near site available. Not a destination but a nice stop if in Ephesus.

Another great place! So cool to visit where John, the beloved, was laid to rest. It's known he…read morereturned to Ephesus, after being exiled on Patmos, and that was where he passed away. So this is where his tomb is and in the 6th century, this large basilica was built over his tomb. However, earthquakes and the encroachment of the Turks resulted in the church being abandoned and relics lost. The original design of the church was laid out like a cross. Most of it is gone today, but you can still kind of see how it was set up. They have a replica of the grounds for Ephesus and the basilica so you can have an idea of what things looked like and how far apart they were. The renderings of the buildings are pretty cool. Such amazing history here!

THE absolute spot you go to in Izmir if there's a demonstration of some sort. I have seen many…read moregatherings there. Many people go out for Dokuz Eylul day...also Ataturk's Memorial day etc. But I think the best was when I was out in the streets celebrating Fenerbahçe winning the TSL championship on their 100th year in 2007. Pretty amazing sight to see!