İzmir, Türkiye

İzmir is home to almost 3 million people making it the 3rd largest city in Türkiye.  It's an old city with more than 3000 years of recorded history but the area had been settled since the Neolithic period over 8000 years ago.

It's almost 100 km from Kusadasi which takes a little over an hour by car.
Prior to 1930, the city was known by its Greek name Smyrna (Σμύρνη).

Konak Pier is a seaside pier that was converted to a modern shopping, dining, and cinema complex.

Konak Square, designed by Gustave Eiffel, the same architect that designed the Eiffel Tour in Paris, is home to a few of the city's landmarks.

Konak Mosque, also known as Yali Mosque, was built in 1755.  It's known for its distinctive octagonal shape.  It was last renovated in 1964.

The clock tower was built in 1901 to honour the 25th anniversary of Abdülhamid II, becoming Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

The First Bullet Monument is dedicated to the 1919 memory of a journalist and martyrs.

The city's first government office was located in the square but was demolished in 1869-1872.  They burned down in 1970 and were rebuilt according to the original plans.

The Izmir Archaeology Museum was established in 1924 on the site of an abandoned church.  It opened to the public in 1927.

The Izmir Ethnography Museum is currently closed for renovation.  The stone building dates back to 1831 when it was originally built as part of a hospital.

The 19th-century Church St Polycarp is the city's oldest functioning Christian church.  I understand the the church walls are adorned with frescoes but unfortunately the church was closed so we missed out getting to see them.

The Asansör is a public level street elevator that was built in 1907.  Prior to the elevator, residents needed to walk a long way and climb 155 stairs to reach the upper part of the town.  There are cafés at the top with nice views of the coastline.

The Hisar Mosque is one of the biggest in the city centre.  Construction began in 1592 and opened in 1598.

Izmir had a sizeable Greek population until 1923 where there was a population exchange between Greece and Türkiye.

In 1923, following a seven-month conference, the Lausanne treaty was signed that recognised new Turkish state following the end of the Ottoman Empire after WWI.  The treaty provided for the protection of the Christian minority in Türkiye and the Muslim minority in Greece.  I had never heard of the forced population exchange before but here's a short video I found about it on YouTube.

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