The gulf terrace
From the top the Gulf of Izmir and Konak pier spread out beneath you, and at sunset it is one of the best free views in the city.
Robot8A — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yabancı — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Aziz Akbiyik — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Scott Dexter — CC BY-SA 2.0
This tower, as the story goes, owes its existence to a broken leg. At the turn of the twentieth century, residents of the Karataş quarter climbed from the seafront street to the road on top of the cliff by way of roughly 155 steps, until a friend of the Jewish banker Nesim Levi fell on them and fractured his leg. Levi's answer, in 1907, was a 58-metre brick tower with two public lifts inside, the bricks shipped in from Marseille and, originally, one cabin driven by steam and the other by electricity; both have run on electricity since the restoration completed in 1993. Asansör is simply the Turkish word for lift, and in Izmir it has become a proper name. The Izmir metropolitan municipality runs it today; the ride is completely free and over in seconds. Do not expect a grand monument. The whole point is the moment the doors open at the top: a hanging terrace with the entire Gulf of Izmir laid out in front of you, the Konak pier, the roofs stacked down the slope and, if you time it well, the sun dropping behind the mountains across the water. Sunset is the right hour, and also the hour the queue stretches on weekend evenings, so arrive half an hour early. Getting there is part of the pleasure. You walk up a short lane named after Dario Moreno, the Izmir-born singer who lived here in the 1940s, lined with restored old houses in pale colours and timber-framed windows, one of the few pockets of old Izmir left standing. At the top of the tower a café and a restaurant trade on the view. The terrace café is fine for tea with the family; the restaurant is pricier than the city norm and has a bar, so do not assume it as a family dinner spot. The whole stop is thirty minutes to an hour, and it suits children, pushchairs and older relatives because the lift removes the stairs entirely. From Konak it is about twenty minutes on foot along the waterfront, or take the tram to the Karataş stop and walk a few minutes. In August heat make it a strictly evening visit: the terrace is exposed and the sea breeze only arrives after sundown.
From the top the Gulf of Izmir and Konak pier spread out beneath you, and at sunset it is one of the best free views in the city.
The short lane leading to the lift is lined with restored old houses, one of the last surviving faces of old Izmir.
Built in 1907 to spare residents 155 steps, it still runs more than a century later with two modern cabins.
Dario Moreno Sokağı, Turgut Reis, Konak, İzmir
İzmir Archaeological MuseumThe star exhibit was never dug up; it was hauled out of the sea. A bronze runner14 min walk4.3
İzmir Clock TowerThis is the image İzmir chooses for itself: it is the emblem of the Metropolitan19 min walk4.8
Konak SquareA 25-metre marble clock tower, put up in 1901 to mark twenty-five years of Sulta19 min walk4.5
Kemeraltı BazaarThe lanes you thread today between gold shops and spice sacks were, four centuri21 min walk4.3Worth it if you are already in the area: the lift is free, fun for children and fine with a pushchair, and the whole thing takes half an hour. It is not a place to cross the city for on its own, so fold it into one evening loop with Konak Square, the clock tower and the Karataş quarter.
No. The terrace and the lift are open to everyone for free; the restaurant is separate and only takes bookings for people who want to sit and eat. Around sunset on weekends the queue grows, so come early or pick a weekday.
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