Efes Enfes

We had a few days off from school for the Muslim holiday of Bayram. Since a lot of things were closed around the campus, we decided exploring Turkey was a good alternative to staying in Istanbul. We traveled to Izmir, Turkey, which is Turkey's third largest city. What an adventure.

Izmir is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. It's got beaches surrounded by mountains. So wonderful. So beautiful.

Since we booked our flights kind of last minute (and we wanted cheap flights) we left Istanbul at 6:45 AM, and got to Izmir by 7:45. Everything was pretty much closed when we got there--since it was so early and because it was during Bayram. We walked around the city and wandered up some pretty steep hills which led to amazing panoramic views if Izmir and the surrounding areas. It took about five attempts to find 1) an open restaurant and 2) a restaurant that served food. We finally got some food, and the people at the table next to us started filming us. It was a little awkward, but it happens as English-speakers/Americans.

Universal Studios in Izmir

Outdoor gym--these are everywhere but we had this one to ourselves since it was so early in the morning

The smallest mosque I've ever seen

Famous clock tower in Izmir

It was a pretty nice day, so we took a ferry to the "opposite shore" which is Homer's birthplace. With all of its beauty and diversity, no wonder Izmir created such a wonderful writer. This part of Izmir was kind of like a Times Square at first and then it turned into an Upper East Side residential area. Izmir just kept getting better.

The rest of the day/night was really fun. After dinner, we all napped because we had been up since 3:30. Some of us went out to experience Izmir, and experience it we did. We got food late night at the best restaurant I have ever been to, called Topça. It was soooo good and not expensive at all. We literally filled the table with food. So good.

The next day, we went to Ephesus, Turkey. It is an ancient city, first Greek and later Roman. The ruins we saw were mind-boggling. I still can't wrap my mind around all of the things we saw. The Temple of Artemis is there, which is one of the seven wonders of the world. I can't even find the right words to describe how amazing this part of the trip was. My professor told me that the Turkish have a saying, "Efes Enfes" which means Ephesus is fantastic. (Efes is how the Turkish say "Ephesus")

The theater in Ephesus--it was amazing how well you could hear from the top row

The library in Ephesus

Double Church

We got dinner back in Izmir, at Topça of course. So delicious.

The last day, we toured around Izmir. We went to a couple museums and explored Konak, the waterfront of Izmir. We did some shopping and had some Turkish ice cream, which is like gelato but better.

 

In one of the museums--check out the date

It's easy to see why I am in love with Izmir :)

 It was an amazing trip. I love Izmir. I can only hope that some day, I get to travel there again!