Here and There Around Ìzmir

Sunday, 4 September 2016
Alsancak, İzmİr  — Turkey
Temps: Hi 91F (33C) / Lo 73F (23C)

One of the vivid memories I have from my childhood is the İzmir International Fair, held annually inside Kültür Park.  This year was the 85th such fair to be held.  Mom and I joined Aylin and Murat for a quick look-see Friday night.

Graffiti on stretch film … a temporary art form.

Back in the day, the fair used to last a month.  There were commercial pavilions promoting products from countries around the world, hundreds of shopping and food kiosks, and concerts and plays at open air theaters.  The latter are still there, but the commercial portion of the fair was moved outside the city several years ago, and the duration has been reduced to two weeks.  We didn’t stay until after dark when most of the action takes place.  We wandered around for a while, but primarily, we wanted to check out the Eataly pavilion … which turned out to be a bit disappointing because of its size and lack of product line.  Nonetheless, we enjoyed the limited pasta and desserts featured on the casual dinner menu.

Left & Right: From the St Petersburg Art & Photography Exhibit.
Center: A Stilt-walker wandering around as a prehistoric creature.

The size of the Eataly kiosk is disappointing, but the pasta and panna cotta please our palate.

Sunday dawned as a clear(ish) day … not often the case … especially when the city is enveloped by a heat haze.  Mom suggested we head over to check out the historic Asansör [elevator] in the city’s Karataş neighborhood.  I’d never been to this landmark of the city so I readily agreed.  The four of us hopped in a taxi for the short ride, and before we knew it we were being whisked up the tower to enjoy the expansive views of the city from the terrace.

The Asansör was built in 1907 by a Jewish philantropist who wanted to ease passage between two neighborhoods previously connected only by a series of steep steps.  The tower is 190 feet (58 m) tall, and the brick used to construct it was brought from Marseille, France.  Of the two elevators within the tower, one was operated by electricity and the other was driven by steam power.  Privately owned for years, the structure was donated to the Metropolitan Municipality, which restored the tower, replaced the existing elevators with two electric-powered ones, and returned the Asansör to public service.

An expansive view of the city from a nearby park, including the top half of the tower.

A mosaic mural of a white dove decorates the steps leading further into the neighborhood.

I’m glad mom suggested this short outing … breezy comfortable temps and clear views of the city certainly added pleasure to our day.

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