Kemeralti Bazaar

Kemeralti is the historic bazaar of Izmir, occupying the blocks between Konak Square and the foot of the Kadifekale hill. Its outline follows the line of the former inner harbour, which was filled in during the seventeenth century, and ever since then trade has run along the former shoreline arc. The market grew up around hans and mosques: the Kizlaragasi Han of 1744 with its two-tiered courtyard has survived, along with the Hisar Mosque, the largest in the city, and several bedestens. The covered streets are spanned by brick vaults, beneath which run rows of shops selling gold, fabrics, spices and tableware, while the side passages are occupied by workshops. Individual blocks still keep their old specialisations, and it is easy to tell from the signs where leather is traded and where tools are. Deep inside the bazaar stand the synagogues of the Jewish quarter; some are still in use, others have been restored as a museum. Coffee houses with low stools are scattered between the rows, where coffee is brewed on sand. The bazaar remains alive and is aimed above all at local shoppers. The total area of the trading quarter exceeds two hundred hectares, and its boundaries are still defined in different ways.

On the map