Come along with a Boomer traveling solo! THIS SITE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION, BUT I EXCITEDLY LAUNCHED IT ANYWAY. I'LL BE ADDING MORE POSTS OR INFORMATION DAILY. ENJOY!!!
Tuesday, 24 Jun 2025 Arrived safely in Izmir, Turkey. At the airport and train station, everything was spotless clean – no graffiti, no cigarette butts or gum on the floor. And the train was the same, very clean. But the view from the train was a different picture – I saw lots and lots of trash and half-demolished buildings.
At the airport, three different airport workers told me to go to the left to get to the train. But there was no walkway and no one else was walking that way – but that was the only answer I got out of each of them, even after putting my question in Google translate. So I walk along the road that is clearly not meant for walking, but eventually get to the elevator to take me to the train. But in the elevator, one of the choices was “international terminal” and I thought “isn’t that where I just was?” So I pushed that button and found a very nice covered walkway with those moving platforms. I took it all the way back to where I had been just to see what directions I should have been given. Yep. Right where I had come out the door from the terminal. The signage was bogus, it told me to go to the right. But all I needed to do was go straight across the street and take the elevator down to the walkway. Why didn’t they tell me that?? Thankful for a language barrier, I couldn’t argue with anyone and I just went on my way to the train.
After getting off the train, I made my way to the first hotel where I could get a bite to eat and charge my phone, which had died right before I got on the train. (I thought my extra charger was charged, but discovered it wasn’t). Once I could see my maps, I realized I was only 350m from my hotel. Perfect!
When I got to the hotel, I was tired and hot and my feet were tired, so I just chilled and have been chilling ever since – I’d thought I’d go down by the water, but that can wait until morning.
Last views of Macedonia.In the airport in Izmir, Turkey – advertising Ephesus and Pergamon as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The city of Izmir, Turkey. It was a very short flight, but I flew into another time zone, so now my time is 10 hours ahead of Washington.
In my trip planning, I’d looked at hotels and neighborhoods, and transit. I’d seen the map of Izmir so much, I knew it immediately when I saw it for real.
First sighting of Izmir.Agriculture in the vicinity of Izmir.More agriculture in the vicinity of Izmir. Could it be strawberries?First view of Turkey coastline.Turkey coastline.View from my new room (for one night) – I can see the water!! The reason it’s just one night is that I thought I’d be taking a train or bus and they take over 24 hours, so I didn’t think I’d arrive until tomorrow. My main hotel reservation doesn’t start until tomorrow night and they didn’t have availability for me to come early.
Yesterday, Wednesday, 25 Jun 2025, Izmir, Turkey. Fun fact – the city of Izmir used to be the biblical Smyrna!! Chip sent me pages from a guidebook where I discovered that. I went walking along the water in the morning and discovered a ferry – actually a water taxi. After observing it for a while, I realized it wasn’t leaving the port, so I took it too. The ferry goes to three different places in the port in Izmir: Alsancak, where I was; Pasaport to the south; and Karsiyaka to the north. But the entire trip that the ferry runs between all three is less than 30 minutes. That was my highlight from yesterday. I needed to switch hotels because I’d come into town one day earlier than originally planned and my main hotel didn’t have space. The move was brutal. It was 104 degrees outside and I was schlepping my “stuff”. Problem was I started out already hot and tired after walking around three areas of town and then that just made it worse. Once I got to my room, I never left.
Most everything I see here is very clean. There are no cigarette butts or graffiti and the walkways are swept nicely. That really makes a big difference. There are places where old infrastructure is falling apart but … this is an old city. I know that isn’t much of a report for an entire day, but it’s all I have
Love to all
First closeup view of the Aegean Sea – looking northwest.First closeup view of the Aegean Sea – looking southwest.First closeup view of the Aegean Sea – looking west.The only reason I took this picture is so I could find my way back to where my hotel was. I’m always afraid that I’ll take a walk and not know what it looks like in the opposite direction.The ferry terminal closest to where I was staying – just about a 3-minute walk.Whoops! I don’t think I was supposed to see that!The ferry on its way into the dock.The ferry, docking.The ferry – I ended up taking a ride on it It cost 27.88 Turkish Lira / $.70 USD! Score!Looking along the seawall and walkway. There were actually three walkways – the paver one, a blue one, and a red one. The blue one is for wheeled modes – I saw mostly e-scooters.The ferry again – walk-on only, no cars. But it is like a water taxi. Coming from the Pacific Northwest where drive-on ferries are part of the state highway system, I was especially interested in the ferries in Izmir.The view from my room – you can see a ferry on the water. Do you see any graffiti?? I don’t either. I enjoyed watching these kids. They were playing a charades game – I think they’re all cousins because there were two moms who looked like sisters.Inside the ferry. This was the lower level. The upper level had the same kind of seating. But I stayed upstairs, outside in the breeze.On the ferry, pulling into a smaller harbor at Pasaport (that’s the name of a neighborhood).Pasaport vicinity of Izmir.Pasaport ferry terminal.In Pasaport, I was walking by some restaurants and came across these unlucky fish.Dinner?The only Turkish word I know – Taksi – ha!A University in the Pasaport area.The Taksi stand again.From Pasaport – view of a fire in the distance.The ferry. While I was out walking, I saw the ferry pull into the terminal in Alsancak and decided to watch where it went and how long it took. It went to two other terminals and back to Alsancak in under 30 minutes. And LOTS of people got on and off each time.From Wiki: The Tree of the Republic statue in Izmir is located in Gündoğdu Square [Vicinity of Alsancak by the ferry terminal] and commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Turkish Republic.From Wiki: Atatürk Monument is a monument in İzmir, Turkey dedicated to the Turkish War of Independence depicting equestrian Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.I just thought this looked so pleasant – it’s the ferry terminal at Pasaport and a little tug boat.The ferry terminalView along the sea wall at Karsiyaka, looking at some very modern buildings.At Karsiyaka. Here is the significance (from Wiki): The monument located on the seawall at Karşıyaka, İzmir, Turkey, is the Atatürk, His Mother, and Women’s Rights Monument. This monument, found in the district’s Constitution Square, is dedicated to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, and also honors his mother and the advancement of women’s rights in Turkey. The monument is a symbol of Turkish pride and independence, representing the nation’s journey towards sovereignty and democracy.Location of Karsiyaka in proximity to Izmir proper.Looking across the port. Izmir proper on the left.I thought these buildings in the center and the palm trees were pretty.
