Once the ancient city of Smyrna — one of the claimed birthplaces of Homer and home to one of Revelation's seven churches — Izmir is today a modern, breezy metropolis of 3.7 million set around a huge bay, with an atmosphere closer to Mediterranean Europe than to the Turkey of postcards.
Its heart is Konak Square, presided over by the ornate Clock Tower of 1901, the city's emblem, with the little Yali Mosque tiled beside it. From there the Kemeralti bazaar unspools uphill — an 18th-century labyrinth of spices, gold, wedding dresses and the best stuffed mussels on the coast — and the broad seafront Kordon invites the local pastime: walking slowly by the water with absolutely no agenda.
Smyrna beneath the streets
Downtown, sunken below the modern grid, lies the Roman agora of Smyrna: two stories of arched galleries, a forest of columns and vaulted basements you can walk through, built after the earthquake of AD 178 with imperial help from Marcus Aurelius. For Biblical travelers, the church of Smyrna received the second letter of Revelation, and the church of Saint Polycarp — the city's martyred bishop — still stands as Izmir's oldest church.
The lively districts each have a flavor: Alsancak's old Ottoman houses now pour tea, beer and waterpipe smoke in equal measure; Karsiyaka across the gulf watches the sunset back at the city. For our guests, Izmir is usually an airport or a cruise dock — but give it an afternoon on the way and it repays the detour handsomely.