I'm going to Izmir for a long weekend next month. <BR>Any ideas what to see and do and what should not be missed? <BR>Thanks, Bernhard

Bernhard: Only interesting thing I found in Izmir was the airport. From there you easily can get your flight home <BR>Joe

We have a very nize post office (main <BR>post office) in our town. <BR>You can also visit our catacombs under the city (sewer) <BR> <BR>

We used Izmir as the base to go to interesting archaeological sites around. <BR>In Izmir itself, there's not much, but the city has a good covered bazaar where I got gold jewelry and leather jacket at a price better than in Istanbul. You can also watch sunset from Kadifekale (sp?) hill, and being up high, you can hear the call to prayer at 6pm surround-sound. However, there were children begging, something you might find annoying.

Thank you, CB. We certainly will spend most of our time exploring other parts of the area. Ephysus and such. <BR>Will driving be a problem? <BR>Bernhard

Izmir is a typical big city, the citadel at the top (can't remember what it's called is unremarkable - mostly just a picnic place without grass), the only interesting thing to do is walk along the water. Driving in Turkey is easy - rent a car and take off. Driving is on the right side, lights are on the ready(red)/set(yellow)/go(green)- they start shifting gears on the red - start to move on the yellow and are going on the green. You should to down to Ephasus/Sulcuk (Sul-chuk)-great places nearby (definite must)- incredible ruins - changes every time I see it (they're still putting it together like a puzzle). Kusadasi (Ku-sha-da-si) is a great touristy area, Bodrum is a great marina/tourist area, they have a wonderful citadel overlooking the water very worth checking out.