Izmir Day 2 – Ataturk Museum, Culture and Arts Factory, Kultur Park and the Roman Agora of Smyrna (and more!)

As the title of this post may imply, we have another action-packed day in-store today. After a more than adequate breakfast at Hotel Marla, we continue our whistle-stop tour of Izmir but this time self-guided. Our first destination is the Ataturk Museum. After walking just a few minutes to the seafront we turn right away from Konak Square. The Kordon esplanade eventually incorporates Alsancak Park, a large green space with a flower-covered walkway. Amongst the noisy hubbub of the city, paragliders zigzag in the bright spring day sky above us. Across the other side of the bay, in the foothills of the Yamanlardag National Park, the coastal landscape is filled with modern tower blocks. We must be a mirror image of it here in Konak.

Almost parallel with the Ataturk Museum, is Gundoglu Square which had been hidden by thousands of protesters the day before. At the centre of the square is the Tree of the Republic monument. It was inaugurated in 2003 to mark the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. It was created by Turkish sculptor Ferit Özşen. The column has some interesting relief work that seems to tell a story of struggle and victory. I would love to have found further information to understand the story but Google yielded nothing. A very impressive monument and an apt meeting place for the Workers and Solidarity Day marchers.

We cross the road to our first destination of the day, the Ataturk Museum. Just a few doors away is the Greek Embassy, both in imposing neo-classical buildings.

I suppose I’ve had a curiosity about Ataturk since reading about this part of Greek history some time ago. This isn’t the part of history we were taught at school – that was all Industrial Revolution and English kings and queens which never really inspired me. There’s no doubt that Gazi Mustafa Kemal (he became known as Ataturk in later years) was an impressive man. He was responsible for overthrowing the absolutist regime of the Sultans and their autocratic rule and creating the modern Republic of Turkey.  Amongst his many achievements, was the introduction of secularism which separated religion from state affairs, the abolition of polygamy, and the introduction of free and compulsory primary education. He modernised the Constitution and believed in social and political equality and equality for women. Now we enter the museum to learn more.

Firstly the building itself. It was built between 1870 and 1875 by a carpet merchant. Several decades later it served as the army headquarters for a short while. The building had several successive changes of hand and usage including a hotel and a pied-à-terre for Ataturk when he stayed in Izmir. In 1923 during the Izmir Economic Congress, Ataturk worked from here. In 1941 it was opened as a museum to mark the 19th anniversary of Ataturk’s arrival in Izmir. The museum went through several incarnations including the Ataturk Provincial Public Library and Izmir City Ataturk Museum, Ataturk and Ethnography Museum and in 1988 it became the Ataturk Museum.

The first exhibit on the ground floor outlines the early life of Mustafa Kemal. He was born in Thessaloniki’s Kocakasim neighbourhood in 1881. Thessaloniki was a cosmopolitan city, a trading hub with many Western influences and where different ethnic and religious communities lived together. This early life experience undoubtedly helped to shape the man he became. After graduating from school, in 1896 he enrolled in Monastir Military High School. In addition to his military education, Kemal who was an avid reader became interested in poetry, and literature and learnt to speak French fluently.

His obsession with reading shaped the man he became. He came from a poor family but any money he received would be spent on books. He believed that if hadn’t read so many books he would not have become Ataturk. There were 4289 books in his private collection but when he was undertaking research this increased to over 10,000.

Mustafa Kemal then went on to progress through the military ranks and took part in significant military operations – that is well documented but I’m interested to learn more about the man rather than the military leader. Reading was the golden thread that connected every milestone throughout his life. Even when fighting on the front, he would still find time to read and he even began writing about military subjects. At the age of 27 his first book was published. His areas of interest were broad. In 1937 he wrote a book for schools called Geometri using plain language that was simple to understand. He also wrote a book on civics which was taught in schools from 1931 onwards.

Other themes become apparent such as his strong belief in creating a modern country with democracy at its core. He believed that democracy was a spiritual matter and a matter of the mind and not the body.

Despite the atrocities that were committed during the Asia Minor Catastrophe, Ataturk didn’t believe in national hatred. He believed that every nation was honourable as long as they didn’t attack Turkey. Testament to this is the letter written by former Greek Prime Minister Venizolos, recommending Mustafa Kemal for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1981 in the centenary year of Mustafa Kemal’s birth, UNESCO declared it the Ataturk Year. The aim was to promote the values that Ataturk came to embody to younger generations – his belief in democracy, equality and peace between nations to name a few.

Before we ascend the staircase to the next floor we enter the next exhibition space, a recreation of Ataturk’s war room.

Exhibits laid out across several rooms on the first floor give an insight into the personal and working life of Ataturk. Ataturk only married once. His wife Latife Usakigil was an articulate and well-educated woman who was at the forefront of the women’s emancipation movement in Turkey. Their marriage lasted just two short years. Although Ataturk didn’t have any biological children he went on to adopt 9 children with another 2 children under his protection. It’s interesting to walk around the private suites and to imagine the conversations that must have taken place. The residence was fairly opulent for its time.

 One section of the museum explains the significance of the 1923 Izmir Economic Congress. During this period of Turkish history after the War of Independence and the decimation of Smyrna/Izmir the country was in economic decline. The congress was to set out a plan for an economic resurrection. Over 1000 Turkish delegates representing agriculture, trade, artisans, and labour attended including top politicians. The success of the congress is debatable. A series of articles were agreed and were outlined in a document called the Economic Pact. Although this didn’t materialise again as a working document, the concept of the congress itself was groundbreaking and said to have laid down the foundation for Turkey’s economic policies into the future.

There is no doubt that the museum gives an insight into this interesting and unique man. Well worth the visit when visiting Izmir. The museum is open daily from 0830 – 1700.

After leaving the Ataturk Museum we try to re-trace our steps from yesterday. We don’t manage to do this very successfully but it takes us through other bits of Alsancak that we hadn’t seen. Here we find vibrant shopping streets with an eclectic mix of wares and street art. At every turn, there is a cart laden with fruit or men on trikes transporting various produce. Although I’m not a big shopper when travelling, the prices here are just way too tempting – but we’ll delve further into that tomorrow. We pass a small church – the Anglican church the Church of St John the Evangelist which looks like something straight from an English country village. The stone plaque above the door says it was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Gibralter in 1902. I read later that there has been an Anglican presence here since the Church of England chaplain Thomas Curtys was posted to Smyrna in 1636.

Our next visit is KulturPark, the large green space in the centre of Izmir but along the way, we stumble across the Izmir Culture and Arts Factory. We’re not quite sure what we’ll find here but decided to buy tickets and see what was on offer. I think that we’d bitten off more than we could chew as this is a huge arts and culture space only recently opened. We have so much to pack in today that we have to prioritise what we would like to see here. There is the Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum, the Izmir Painting and Sculpture Museum, three specialist libraries, an outdoor cinema, a bookshop and a cafe (and more!). We choose the former as it seems the most substantial of the facilities on offer. And substantial it is! Set over three floors the thematic exhibitions (1st two floors archaeology 3rd floor ethnology) cover a space of 7240 square metres. An extensive collection of artefacts brings Turkish, Roman and Hellenic history to life. The Youtube video below gives an overview of what to expect and to see it properly you need at least a whole day.

I must admit that I didn’t make it to the top floor and the ethnographic exhibit. Hmmm – damn you old bones! Whilst I waited on the ground floor for Peter, I fell into conversation with an English guy called Darren. He approached me with “Oh thank God your English” and began to tell me about an unfortunate experience he’d had the night before. It was the first time that he’d travelled to Turkey on his own and it transpires that he had been taken for a bit of a joyride in one of the town bars. He told me he’d gone in for a quiet drink and was later joined by two ‘ladies’. They asked him if he’d buy them some drinks and naively he did. He began to feel uncomfortable and decided to pay for the drinks and leave. Enter the waiter with an astronomical bill! Initially, he refused to pay it. It got all a bit nasty so felt he was left with no choice and paid it. Unfortunately, this is a popular scam for unsuspecting tourists and it left Darren with a bitter taste in his mouth. It had distressed him so much that he needed to offload the experience and I was happy to provide that ear. I shared with him some of my handy hints for dealing with ‘hassle’ learned in the bazaars of Luxor. It’s all to do with exuding an air of confidence (even if it’s only for show) and I told him to never be afraid to say “NO!” even if it sounds rude. This doesn’t always come naturally but when travelling solo whether you’re male or female you need to have your wits about you. Darren left our conversation feeling a little relieved and hopefully went on to enjoy the rest of his holiday.

Now we navigate our way to Kultur Park, in the heart of Konak. The park was originally opened in 1936 and was built on land that was destroyed in the Great Fire including part of the Armenian Quarter. Over the years it has been extended and now covers 420,000 square metres. The park has indoor exhibition halls and several conference halls, an open-air theatre, a sports hall, an amusement park, a parachute tower, a youth theatre, a museum, a 1,850-metre long running track, a swimming pool, tennis courts, and a football pitch. That should give some idea of what we’re talking about here.

We enter through one of the five entrances into the park and along a broad, tree-lined avenue until we come to the pool and fountain close to the centre. Just next to it is the Egyptian obelisk which doesn’t much impress Peter. Yes, it’s one of those “They call this an obelisk!” moments. For someone who comes from the land of the Pharaohs, this is very much a Disney obelisk!

I don’t have the physical capability to cover all of the park but we make a good attempt, enough to appreciate this is a fantastic asset for the city.

We couldn’t leave Izmir without paying a visit to the Smyrna Agora (Agora Ören Yeri) located in the heart of the city. According to the writings of Pausanius, a geographer and traveller of the 2nd century A.D, Alexander the Great arrived on the slopes of Mt Pagos (Kadifekale) to hunt. After falling asleep under a plane tree in front of the Temple of Nemesis, he had a dream. Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution and revenge commanded him to found a city in that spot and move the people there from the former site.

In the 4th century BC following the reign of Alexander the Great and inspired by his dream, the Agora of Smyrna was built by Greek citizens. In 178 AD it was destroyed by an earthquake. Under the command of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelias it was rebuilt but again. The governor of the city, a Roman citizen named Damokharis is credited with much of the work. An inscription can be found on the base of a statue, says “O Judge Damokharis, renowned for your skill! This success also belongs to you. After the deadly disasters of an earthquake, you managed to turn Smyrna into a city again with very diligent work.” Unfortunately, the city again fell into decline.

During Byzantine and Ottoman times it was used as a cemetery. Soon after the founding of the Turkish Republic, the first excavations of the site were carried out. In 2020, Smyrna Agora was placed on UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List.

After an hour or so in the old Agora, tempted by the eclectic mix of shops and the lively atmosphere we head to the Kemeraltı Bazaar. However, I’ll write about this in the next post. We head back to the hotel to shower and change and then take the short walk from Hotel Marla to the Konak Pier. After a ‘little’ shopping we peruse the various restaurants in the mall for our evening meal. We’re spoilt for choice but choose the lively Narjill. Neither of us had realised until we were seated at the table and had placed our order that the restaurant didn’t serve alcohol! Schoolgirl error Stephanie! Well, it won’t kill us to forgo the booze for one night! The food was delicious. 27,000 steps completed today. I’m pooped. Goodnight!