Izmir

05.10.2010

The beautiful sunset in Izmir!

Last week I visited Ozan's hometown of Izmir, which is actually not really a town but the third largest city in Turkey. It's near the Aegean Sea and it has a backdrop of mountains and a long promenade by the water with plenty of nice cafes to hang out at. It was a treat to get picked up at the airport and have a car to travel to nearby Cesme, a popular summer spot with beautiful beaches. One day went to the beach near the Sheraton hotel. The sea was a much different color than the Jersey shore and was infinitely shallow. We walked out super far and the water was still up to our calves.

At the coffee house outside one of the bazaars in town.

Ozan read my fortune in the leftovers from my Turkish coffee.

This week Ozan came back to visit me in Istanbul and we went to Princes Islands, about an hour and a half ferry ride from the city. We visited Heylbeliada and Buyuk ada (big island. On Heybeliada, we saw the Naval Academy and I made friends with a doggy. There are tons of strays in Istanbul--both dogs and cats. On Buyuk ada we rented bikes and rode around, discovering that they gave it the name "big island" for a reason. We finished the evening there with a nice fish dinner with a great view of the sea