Hi all, I am sure many people joined steemit because of the reward system, I was one of them. Even though money is a good motivation, when I started posting, I realized creating quality content and sharing it with the people who might actually enjoy it, was in fact much more satisfying. In search of the like-minded people, I joined a new community called C.H.A.T. (Culture, History, Art, and Travel) on their discord channel. This is a community where I was welcomed right away and got the most support from, where I met many people who share the same interest as me. It is a community where people support each other to create better contents. This community gave me a push to write better, try harder and enjoy while doing it.
I always write about the places I visit, today I will talk about my hometown, İZMİR. It is on the west of Turkey, shares Aegean sea and many islands with Greece.
It is believed that amazons fought in this area and defeated a tribe called Elektdi. The Elektdi leader married the amazon queen and named the city after her, SMYRNA (the ancient name of IZMIR). The women power in this city didn’t change in years, on 1828 the raise on bread price was not excepted by Izmir women and for three days they occupied the streets and protested. The bread price was decreased and this protest made its place in history, known as the first protest performed by women.
There are many places to visit either you are interested in history, culture or just fun. The Sirince Village in Izmir was believed to be the only place in the world that will survive from the Mayan Apocalypse 2012. Many people believed it will survive the doomsday thanks to the good energy on the village and almost invaded the village on 2012. Other than that it is a beautiful village where you can enjoy a Turkish breakfast with a view, take great pictures and get drunk with amazing fruit wines you can find on every corner.
The House of Virgin Mary is pretty close to Sirince Village. It declared as a pilgrimage place for Christians by Pope John-Paul II, it is also believed to be sacred by many Muslims as well.
The ancient Greek city Ephesus (10th century BC) -which was one of the greatest cities in the world during Roman Empire- is located in Izmir. The ruins Artemis Temple -which is one the seven wonders of the world- can be seen in Ephesus as well. The Ephesus is in the list of Unesco World Heritages.
But if you are not interested in history and just want to enjoy the city, Izmir offers you many choices as well. Izmir is a seashore city, naturally you can find many beaches. Either secluded beaches to relax or very vibrant beaches with beach clubs, where you can enjoy a cocktail or two, that turns into nightclubs at night for you to dance and enjoy good music.
There are many seashore restaurants and cafes right on the city center. There are no words to describe drinking rakı (Turkish alcoholic beverage) during sunset.
Also many waterfalls, walking tracks, animals in natural life park can be found in İzmir as well.
Turkish people are very welcoming and hospitable and in all Turkey, it is said Izmir folk is the most relaxed and happy ones. Make sure to add Izmir, Turkey to your future travel list. I will finish my post with a poem from Victor Hugo,
Smyrna’s a princess with its beautiful chapel; the happy spring perfects itself to resound her bells. like a laughing bright set of flowers in a pot its seas are all dotted with archipelago whorls.