Izmir

I think Istanbul’s appeal was really grounded in me when I started reading novels about the city. But before Pamuk or Safak I had picked up Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex. Besides being a fantastic story, it begins in Smyrna (the ancient name for Izmir) where Cal Stephanides’ Greek family originates before immigrating to Detroit. I like when little details seem to correlate to my own life, like this novel tracing an opposite route of my travels this summer.

relief of Smyrna

Izmir reminds me of a little Istanbul. It’s Turkey’s third largest city but it’s very manageable, at least for the parts I wanted to see. They have a Taksim-like walking street and seaside piers. It doesn’t have the historic buildings due to fires following the Greek invasion/expulsion after WWI. But it makes up for this lack with lots of pedestrian streets and the beautiful seaside Kordon, which is a huge park/boardwalk stretching along the sea.

But after a day walking around Izmir I realized how different my experience of the 2 cities was. In Istanbul I had made friends, I worked (somewhat), and had a routine. I gave Izmir two days. Having spent the last week on a whirlwind tour of Western Turkey there have been days I’ve felt homesick, although sometimes I can’t tell if it’s for the U.S. or for Istanbul. Looking back I realized, rather than writing about museums and art galleries in Istanbul, I should have been recording those (always unphotographed) moments when I was making it a home. The nights watching How I Met Your Mother or making fun of pretentious intellectuals with my flat mates, or looking at old Turkish magazines and their “Should you get married?” quizzes with the girls from the gallery, or just making Nescafe and looking out my bedroom window.

Of course the importance of the ordinary becomes apparent when it’s absent.

Coming back to my hotel that night the man at the desk gave me a note. It was from a German couple I had met in Bergama, asking if I wanted to meet up with them the next day. I spent the morning exploring the bazaar and the archeology museum, then met up with Julius and Hannah for some drinks along the Kordon. The moment I realized how much I miss everyone back in Istanbul, I was able to make friends with two nice people who happened to be on the same route. I like when little details seem to correlate to my own life.