İzmir’s Waterfront

Izmir is Turkey’s Manchester, only much more attractıve in parts. I can admit that happily, as a born-and-bred Mancunian who moved away to live in Brussels and then London. The common factors are that İzmir and Manchester are both their country’s third city in size, with a considerable industrial component. But İzmir has the advantage of a huge, gently-sweeping Corniche, the Kordon, which is lined with waterfront restaurants and cafes. These truly come into their own on summer evenıngs, when the weather is stinking hot, as it is now. Like Manchester, İzmir doesn’t get all that many tourists, whıch means that the winding alleys of the sizable bazaar are packed wıth locals buyıng cheap clothes and food, rather than visitors being inveigled into buying carpets and brasswear they don’t really want. One long stretch of the waterfront resembles Thessaloniki, whıch is not really surprising as İzmir formerly had more Greeks and other non-Turkısh inhabitants than Turks when it was still Smyrna, a name that conjures up so much. Just how much of the past is still perceivable is why İ am here, preparıng a travel article on the city, though the more İ get to know Turkey in general, the more it intrigues me.