Eski Foça

We've gone to Eski Foça (also known as Phocaea) at least 2-3 times now (see I've already lost count).  It's an easy day trip from Izmir and entirely accessible via public transportation.  The bus can be a bit crowded and it takes over an hour, but the town is very quaint and the crystal clear waters are always a joy to walk along.

The area is known for its local population of endangered Mediterranean Monk Seals.  It also is rich with history, including Homer's Siren Rocks.  Other attractions include a local castle, old windmills, boat tours, and a small public beach.

During our visits we mostly walked around the harbors, looking at all of the fish and sea urchins along the way.  One day a man had caught a starfish and let the kids look at it.  Another time some kids had pulled up a sea urchin for us to look at.  While sparse on shells, the area is great for observing natural life in the water.

The kids mostly just like going to the beach though.  Even the time we went in February, they had to get in the water, and the "only up to your knees" rule lasted about 10 seconds.

 

 

 

 

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Doğal Yaşam Parkı (Wildlife Park) Izmir

We love visiting the Doğal Yaşam Parkı and have gone more times than we can count.  I feel like the animal park is one of Izmir's hidden gems.  I have been to many zoos in the US, and while they have been nice, they are often crowded.  This park is spacious, clean, and well decorated.


What keeps me going back to the park though is the amazing views of the animals.  They are frequently active and close to viewing areas.  During our visits, the lions, pumas, tigers, bears, wolves, and hyenas often come within inches of the viewing areas.  In my opinion, these up-close encounters are the best part of the park.

The park is also recognized as having the first and only elephant family in Turkey.  They are also the only Turkish zoo with a rainforest enclosure.

We went often during our first fall here, where we got to see tigers fighting and bears and hyenas walking inches away from us.  We even saw a mother zebra get tranquilized so that they could better care for the baby.  But by far our best trip there was when the wolves stopped what they were doing, looked at us, and came over to the glass to interact with us.

We took Tuğçe there when she came to visit, and it was her first time ever going to the zoo - and she loved it of course.  The petting zoo was open that day and we had some fun encounters with the goats.

We've had some great memories there, and I look forward to going back for more.

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Ilica Beach, Izmir, Turkey

Ever since we discovered that we would be moving to Izmir, I've had my sights set on going to Ilica.  Today being a Turkish holiday, we set out to make that happen.

We left Karşıyaka, gathered some supplies for the day, and made our way via metro to the buses in Farhetin Altay that depart for Çeşme.  I was surprised to see that these were not the normal dolmuş buses that take you to Urla and other place.  No, these were actual tourist buses, with air conditioning, comfortable seats, and water served to you on your journey.

I was further surprised by the view and the speed of the trip.  I knew the Izmir-Çeşme road was faster, but was surprised to see that it went up through the mountains.  We got to see Izmir from above for the first time, which was a real joy.  We made it to Ilica within an hour (I was thinking it would be 30min longer) but I missed our stop and ended up in Çeşme.  But immediately after hopping off the bus we found a small dolmuş that went where we needed to go.

The boys were absolutely overjoyed to make it to the beach - probably because of our unintentional detour.  We got of at Ilica Central and walked from the seaside cafes down to the beaches.  There was a large stretch of them, and from what I could tell, most were public.  The nicest ones of course were private, but still there were ample beautiful ones to sit down at free of charge.

Our first order of business, however, was finding a bathroom for Aiden and a changing room for the rest of us.  We walked until we found one, which charged 2,5TL for us all to go in.  After that, we walked back down to a place that had little seaweed (there was a bit of it the day we went, but it was avoidable).  We laid out the blankets and the kids took off for the water. 

We stayed and played for nearly 3 hours before getting changed and starting the adventure of finding our way home.  I knew the bus had to go back to Izmir - and frequently - but I wasn't sure where.  So we handled things Turkish style and asked some travel agency at the Sheraton hotel.  I was proud of myself for understanding his directions in Turkish, and set off.

We found the bus we needed, but had an hour until our departure, so we wandered back down and found a cheap place that served kofte sandwiches.  We grabbed some ice cream to complete our day before heading back and catching our bus home.

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