Kemeraltı Bazaar

Kemeraltı is the old commercial heart of İzmir, a bazaar district that runs from Mezarlıkbaşı to Konak Square along Anafartalar Avenue. The tourism directorate describes it as the city's most important shopping centre, and it still works that way: traders sell ceramics, wall panels, wooden goods, tombac metalwork, carpets, kilims and leather, while neighbouring lanes hold hardware, textiles, spices, nuts and dried fruit. The avenue itself curves because it once followed the edge of an inner harbour that has long since been filled in, and the name Kemeraltı, meaning under the arches, comes from the vaulted and covered upper section between the Şadırvanaltı Mosque and Havra Sokağı, the Street of Synagogues. Ottoman mosques, restored hans, small synagogues, old coffee houses and fish and kebab stalls are tucked into side streets, so the bazaar is as much a living neighbourhood as a market. Nobody asks you to pay to walk in; only the cafes, restaurants and shops charge. It is also the right place to graze, because İzmir's specialities are sold here in small portions.

The best way to see Kemeraltı is to treat the main avenue as a spine and wander off it. Start at Konak Square beside the Clock Tower and walk inland, then turn into the narrower lanes when something catches your eye: a courtyard han with a tea garden, a mosque courtyard, a street of coppersmiths, a shop that sells nothing but nuts.

The Hisar Mosque and the Kızlarağası Han are the two landmarks most visitors aim for, and the old synagogues around Havra Sokağı are a reminder that İzmir was home to a large Sephardic community for centuries. Stop for a boyoz pastry, a gevrek simit or a Turkish coffee, and ask the price before you point at anything by weight.

Practical points matter here. The bazaar is busiest on weekday late mornings and on Saturdays, and quietest early in the day. Many traders close on Sundays or open late, so a weekday morning gives you the fullest bazaar. Prices on tourist items are negotiable, and a friendly counter-offer is part of the ritual, but on food and everyday goods the price is usually the price.

Carry small notes, keep your phone in a front pocket in the busiest lanes, and wear comfortable shoes, because the stone paving is uneven and the lanes branch so often that it is easy to lose your bearings. A map app helps, but part of the pleasure is getting a little lost and emerging at a different corner than you expected.

Kemeraltı pairs naturally with the sights around it. The Agora of Smyrna sits on the southern edge of the bazaar district, Konak Square and the Clock Tower are at one end, and the Kordon seafront is a short walk or tram ride from the other. A guided food walk covers the bazaar's snack stops in about four hours, while independent visitors can do the same with a handful of small purchases and a good appetite. Plan on two hours for a first visit and longer if you want to shop seriously.