Izmir Travel Guide
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560km (347 miles) to Istanbul; 70km (43 miles) to Selçuk; 90km (56 miles) to Kusadasi; 325km (202 miles) to Çanakkale; 279km (173 miles) to Marmaris
Izmir has come a long way since the late 1800s when the Ottoman elite christened the port city Kokaryali (Smelly Waterfront). Today the city has earned the nobler designation of Güzelyali (Beautiful Waterfront), and with the completion of the green waterside park and promenade called the Kordon, the name is more than appropriate.
Little was left after a fire ignited at the tail end of the War of Independence destroyed all traces of the cultural melting pot that was once Smyrna -- and there's that perilous but dormant fault line to contend with. Seventy-six years after the reconstruction began, Izmir has been reinvented as a prosperous, cosmopolitan, commercial city, more livable than Istanbul, less sterile than Ankara, and filled with wide boulevards and swaying palm trees. But with the azure waters of the Aegean and the extraordinary remains of Ephesus competing for tourist attention, Izmir sadly falls short. Despite this, I actually love the place. There's plenty to do here for anyone who might make an extended stay.
