Turkey Day 7 - Izmir

The hotel ("otel") in Izmir was nice and served the purpose- a central location for an overnight. We didn't even unpack.

I didn't know I could post panoramic pictures! 

Now the hotel has our bags while we go around Izmir in a Friday.

We started the day walking down a corridor with only book stalls. I love books! 

I got some cool evil eye earrings at a jewelry stall for only 10tl. Score!! We went to rent a car to drive to Selcuk. That took a while because people were installing an A/C unit in the ceiling. A man tried to walk away with the cardboard boxes outside and someone had to chase him down. 

Not long after that we saw many (but not all) men kneeling for prayer on cardboard. Maybe it was for that purpose. The Avis guy told us to check it Urlali Restaurant. We asked a bunch of people and one guy from a jewelry shop just abandoned his shop, and led us through throngs of men just finishing prayer. I felt like I was chasing a thief, he was going so quickly in and out of market stalls, around men putting on their shoes and rolling up mats and cardboard. Plus, I was the only woman in that whole crowd so I was getting a lot of "what are you doing running through here?" looks. 

We finally came out at a restaurant, Kismet Garden (~garden of destiny?).  The place was like a Turkish Luby's, with large metal pans of prepared food stacked on each other ("lockantasi style").  Everything was fresh of course, and served with spicy arugula (translates to "rocket" I guess from rocquette), and a bunch of fresh peppers. We got several different items to share - eggplant with chicken, rice with olives, stuffed courgette, aubergine with tomatoes, lamb shank, fresh sautéed beans. And a big hunk of yogurt.   Served with fresh crusty bread! 

I credit my sister for introducing me to a million kinds of food at a young age. From cooking Greek "weeds" and stuffed tomatoes on the weekends to going out for Indian and Mexican, and everything beyond, my palate had been well-groomed for my lifestyle of eating everything in sight! 

...So, we basically got adopted by the garden folks. We ate, then were invited to the patio for coffee and tea. We chatted for a while and thought we were leaving soon, so I went to the WC. One of the guys walked me to the WC through the maze of stalls and shops.  When I turned away to go in, he called after me "do you know how to get back to the shop?" And I hesitated but I said yes.  All of his shop owner buddies started laughing and talking at once. They raised their hands and all nodded at him and i just kept going not really knowing what they were saying. When I came out of the WC, one guy yelled "hey lady!" and, then it was like a chorus of "hey lady"s at every shop directing me back to the restaurant. Ha! 

We agreed to look at some guy's leather shop. When we came downstairs, there was a torrential downpour. So, we sat back down and were given tea and a pistachio dessert by the same guy, plus the wifi password. We passed the storm with the locals, like the locals. Everyone was genuinely welcoming to us. Really lucked out with this restaurant and this crowd. 

We then moseyed about the city, mostly along the water - all along the piers, the ferry terminals (Alsancak and Izmir), and the train station. 

It was hazy most of the day and humid, but the sun broke through around 6:30. We picked up the rental car, grabbed dinner and headed to Selcuk. Fitbit says we walked 10 miles today!  We had dinner at a place on the main drag, that specialized in fish dishes. Not unlike what we had in Kadikoy. The calamari was weak, but the fish, a whole sea bream, was very good. On the way back to get the car from the otel, we picked up Oreos for the car ride and an ice cream for the walk. Whoops! :-)

I'm curious about the nightlife here but we will be missing it for Selcuk tonight. The drive was easy. We are so glad we decided to skip rush hour and head out around 9:30pm. We are now in Selcuk, which feels really small in the dark.  Our innkeeper, Leanne, is Australian or a Kiwi, and her partner is Turkish. Like the awesome Otel Karaca in Izmir, we will only be here for the night. Then off to our next adventure. 

I rearranged my luggage, got ready for the Efes visit tomorrow (Hat, sunscreen, glasses), and did a little bit of laundry that I hope will dry overnight. 

Excited for our tour with No Frills Tours tomorrow!