Kemeraltı Bazaar, walking through the ancient bazars of Izmir

While doing some work behind my computer, I received a phone call from one of Burcu's friends. Erkan and I have met before during my stay here, and we had some great conversations. He's a super caring guy and a great friend to Burcu. He keeps telling me to find a job here in Turkey, so I could live as a king here. Haha, well, I might, as I can definitely get used to the heat. He also asked me if I have already visited the bazaar here and that I should go. Which was exactly what the phone call was about. "I'm headed out to the bazaar, are you free today?" he asked. Oh man, I was getting excited instantly, as I thought it was nice of him to ask me in the first place, but it also is a great opportunity for me to explore more of Izmir. Happily, I accepted the invite, and 10 minutes later, we were in a cab to Kemeralti Bazaar.

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Kemeralti Bazaar

Kemeralti Bazaar is one of the most famous and oldest bazaars in Izmir (Konak area). It dates back to the 17th century and is a hugely visited market located in the heart of the city. It's known for its narrow streets, historic buildings, and a wide variety of products, fruits, fish, textiles, spices, jewelry, and more. The bazaar has a unique blend of Ottoman and Levantine architecture, and it's a great place to experience the city's historical and cultural ambiance.

Around 1744, the Kemeralti Bazaar was very close to the sea, which made it a hub for traders, merchants, and artisans to sell their goods. But it's not only a place of trade, Kemeralti also offers many places to sit down, relax and have some food or refreshments.

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Hisar Mosque

One of the prominent structures that you can find in the Bazaar is the Hisar Mosque, which is also known as the Fortress Mosque. It has been constructed between 1592 and 1598 during the Ottoman Empire. The Hisar Mosque is one of the biggest Mosques in the city and embodies beautiful examples of artwork dating back to the Ottoman Islamic era. Until now, the Mosque has been restored 4 times after damage. Prayers are been heard all over Izmir during the day and evening.

Since this was my first time visiting a Mosque, I was been told that women did their prayers upstairs, while the men pray downstairs. It makes me wonder how the times were back in the day. In my opinion, the prayers of the Imam are so much nicer than the (meaningless) ringing of church bells. The thing that I love about it is that prayers can be heard by anyone. With or without (the same) religion. The Imam's intention will be heard, which most of the time is loving, praising, and being grateful. This makes it valuable for any individual that decides to listen to it. Whether you speak the language or not.

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It's more than just food and vegetables

When I initially think of bazaars and markets, I think of a variety of fresh food and not all the other things that I found there. There was just sooooo much to see here, and even though it was a lot, it was still maybe 2% of what I have seen. The Bazaar is open every day except on Sundays from early on, till around 7 PM.

Anything you can imagine, and it was there. It was also A LOT cheaper to get stuff here than from the grocery stores. And not just "cheaper", I am talking about twice as cheap. For example, 1KG of chicken would cost you nearly 260-300 TL, while at the bazaar, it was like 110 TL. Bananas? 65 TL in the grocery store, and 35 TL on the market. I actually bought 4 pieces of fish for 20 TL, which made me question the quality of it. Erkan ensured me it was good. I mean... 20 TL is like 70 cents. That's a free giveaway.

Photographing strangers

Remember that I mentioned that I wanted to take photographs of strangers? Well, these two strangers were ahead of me. They tapped me on my shoulder and asked me if I wanted to take a photograph of them. While they spoke Turkish with me, and I had no idea what they were saying, Erkan translated for me and I thought, why not? This is exactly what I wanted to do any way. Well, not exactly, but it was fun either way. We exchanged Instagram so I could send them the photograph later when I got home.

Live action

There was tons of live-action and live cooking in the bazaar Not just meat or corn, but also sweets for the kids. It really makes the place feel more alive. Who doesn't love the smell of freshly cooked food?

Places to sit

There were plenty of places to sit to drink a coffee, eat some food, or just relax with your friends. I love it. It doesn't really matter where you would go, there would always be something, somewhere. In the above picture, this is actually a short courtyard, with shops below and above the building around it. It is one of the oldest marketplaces of Kemeralti, and it used to be very close to the sea. But as the Ottoman Empire's environment changed, so did the bazaar. It has expanded widely and is the biggest bazaar that I have ever seen.

Almost bought some new sneakers

Since my shoes are a bit damaged, I desperately could use some new shoes. Unfortunately, they did not have any Nike Huaraches or shoes with EU size 45. Lol. Of course, these are most probably replicas, but honestly, I couldn't give a damn about that anymore, I just need some new shoes that I'm not gonna throw away later. So, maybe I will have some more luck next time!

Thanks for coming along with me through the bazaar

Hopefully, these photographs gave you a good idea of what a Bazaar in Turkey looks like. It's so big, I definitely will have to come back and (also do some grocery shopping there too). Personally, I had a great time with Erkan, and it was very nice to see more of Izmir. Thanks a bunch!

Cheers,
Ruben