Kızlarağası Hanı
An Ottoman han of 1744 with an arcaded courtyard of jewellery and carpet stalls and a coffee lane behind it where the pots sit on hot sand or embers.
Satirdan kahraman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francisco Anzola — CC BY 2.0 · Francisco Anzola — CC BY 2.0 · sailko — CC BY-SA 3.0
The lanes you thread today between gold shops and spice sacks were, four centuries ago, the floor of a harbour. Anafartalar Street, the spine of Kemeraltı, bends in a wide arc because it traces the shoreline of the inner bay the Ottomans filled in between 1650 and 1670 so the market could spread across it. The name says the rest: Kemeraltı means 'under the arches', after the vaulted and domed lanes, and a good part of the maze is still roofed, which makes it one of the few bearable places in Izmir when August climbs past 35 degrees. This is not a building but a whole district, running uphill from Konak Square and the Clock Tower towards the Roman Agora, studded with hans, mosques and synagogues. Its heart is Kızlarağası Hanı, built in 1744 by Hacı Beşir Ağa, chief eunuch of the Ottoman court, and the best-preserved caravanserai in the city: an arcaded courtyard now given over to jewellery, carpets and souvenirs, with a coffee lane behind it where Turkish coffee is cooked on hot sand or charcoal in copper pots. A few steps away stands Hisar Mosque (1592-98), the oldest and largest Ottoman mosque in Izmir and the natural stop for midday prayer. Havra Street holds a cluster of Sephardic synagogues, several finely restored, though going inside means getting permission in advance from the Izmir Jewish community. What to buy: gold weighed by the gram in front of you, leather, spices and dried fruit (Izmir's dried figs are the gift that never misfires), and fabrics. What to eat: boyoz, the flaky oil-rich pastry nobody outside Izmir gets quite right, and a kumru sandwich with a coffee in the han courtyard. Prices sit well below Istanbul's Grand Bazaar and haggling is expected, but the hard sell is concentrated around Kızlarağası Hanı, where the tourists are. Entry is free and you wander as you please, but mind the calendar: most shops keep roughly 09:00 to 19:00, Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday Kızlarağası Hanı shuts, many shops follow and the whole district goes quiet - fine for photographing empty lanes, useless if you came to shop. The streets are paved and crowded; a pushchair copes on the main street and becomes a burden in the narrow passages. Two to three hours is enough, paired with the Clock Tower and the Agora at either end.
An Ottoman han of 1744 with an arcaded courtyard of jewellery and carpet stalls and a coffee lane behind it where the pots sit on hot sand or embers.
Izmir's oldest and largest Ottoman mosque (1592-98), a few steps from the han and the obvious stop for midday prayer.
The flaky boyoz pastry nobody outside Izmir gets right, with a Turkish coffee in the han courtyard before the gold lanes swallow you.
Anafartalar Caddesi, Konak, İzmir
İzmir Clock TowerThis is the image İzmir chooses for itself: it is the emblem of the Metropolitan4 min walk4.8
Konak SquareA 25-metre marble clock tower, put up in 1901 to mark twenty-five years of Sulta4 min walk4.5
Agora of SmyrnaA few hundred metres uphill from Izmir's old bazaar, ten minutes on foot from Ko6 min walk4.6
İzmir Archaeological MuseumThe star exhibit was never dug up; it was hauled out of the sea. A bronze runner8 min walk4.3
KadifekaleThis is the hill, 186 metres above the centre of İzmir, where Lysimachus, one of16 min walk4.1Yes, but for a different reason: Kemeraltı is less polished and more honest - Izmir's own residents shop here, prices are clearly lower and the hard sell fades once you step away from the han. If you want painted vaults and a set-piece spectacle, the Grand Bazaar wins; if you want a working market with gold, spices and boyoz, Kemeraltı is the better hour.
You can walk through, but do not expect the full market: Kızlarağası Hanı is closed and many shops are shuttered, with cafés, restaurants and a scattering of shops open. If Sunday is your only day in Izmir, give it to the Clock Tower and the waterfront and leave the shopping for another day.
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