Izmir

Smyrna's long, 7,000 year old history as a sea port seems very little in evidence, despite the ruins of Alexander the Great's fortress visible from our hotel room window (under the small red flag at the top of the hill)

The fortress is rather dwarfed by the sprawl of flat-topped houses spilling down the hill towards the sea, and at the water's edge modern Izmir seems dominated by glass, marble, and chrome, full of shiny wedding dress boutiques and electronic shops.

Similarly, our hotel, while clean and spacious, could just as easily be in Edmonton or Winnipeg. Yet that makes it a perfect place to rest and relax before the long day tours ahead of us, and we spent the hottest part of he afternoon just relaxing before going for a stroll to the Kordon, the seafront promenade.

Walking down the Gazi Bulvari (itself a rather pretty boulevard planted with maples) feels much like a street in downtown Vancouver, with more colour - street vendors selling bunches of roses and carnations. 

By the time we reached the seaside promenade we realized it was Mother's Day and full of families out for a Sunday evening picnic. Despite Izmir being a cruise ship terminal and a major tourism hub, on this particular evening everyone on the street seemed to be locals, families with young children, couples, groups of friends. We got to the Konak square with its late Ottoman clock tower and pretty little mosque, again surrounded by local families.

We called it a day quite early and went back to the hotel to rest up. This time we are letting the kids take a room of their own, which they actually requested. I'm not worried about their safety, but I do miss their company.