Itinerary

1. Izmir Highlights Tour

   • Arrive at the port of Cesme, connect with your tour guide and board a bus to the city of Izmir, the third-largest city in Turkey, where for decades the heart of Hellenism in Asia Minor was beating. 
   • Pass through Alatsata, a purely Greek Orthodox village before 1922, which still retains the traditional Aegean architecture and Vourla, another important cradle of Hellenism in Asia Minor.
   • Then, after 1-hour travel, reach Smyrna and tour across the most important neighbourhoods and attractions. 
   • Begin from Kokargiali, Quarantine (Enopi) and Karatasi, then head to Konak Square, where we will see the Clock - a symbol of the city and the Government House with the Ionian elements on its facade, where Metropolitan Chrysostomos testified. 
   • Then, roam in front of the railway station of Kasambas (19th century), the classical style building of the Hellenic Central Girl's School and the formerly named Hatzifrangou Street in the area of the hospitals. 
   • Continue to the English railway station of Aydin, Punta, with the few Levantine houses that survive even Frangomahalas, the most important and largest of all the Frankish districts of the East, inhabited by wealthy Europeans and Greeks.
   • Walk through the narrow alleys, which still stand houses from the 19th century, mainly with the emphasis on the classical elements in their architecture, giving an image of the city before the catastrophe. 
   • Cross the beach of the new "Kai", the highlight of the Kapetanaki House, an impressive neoclassical building, which houses again, after 15 years the Greek Consulate. 
   • Next, move to Bella Vista via the classic building of the National Bank and the old customs (Eiffel project).
   • Afterwards, opt for an optional visit to the ancient market of Smyrna and a tour of the archeological site, where the richest collection of Greek murals in the world was recently discovered with scenes from the daily life of the Roman period. 
   • The next stop is Agios Voukolos, the only orthodox church that survived the 1922 Catastrophe, dedicated to the first bishop of Smyrna, Voukolos. The church has been recently restored and testifies with its presence to the beautiful but also the tragic moments of the Hellenism of Smyrna.
   • Later, spend some free time in the bustling bazaar of Smyrna, Kemeralti. Here is the old Ottoman neighborhood of the city with labyrinthine alleys, old Ottoman houses and a restored inn from the 18th century. 
   • In the afternoon, return to the port of Cesme, board the ship and depart to Chios.

   Tour ends.