Kemeraltı, Konak, İzmir, Türkiye

Standing: High
Rank: Rank 347 of 2,765

Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor

About Kemeraltı

Kemeraltı, more fully Kemeraltı Çarşısı, is a historical bazaar district of İzmir and remains one of the city's liveliest areas. It covers a large area from the level of the ancient Agora of Smyrna down to the seashore at Konak Square, bounded by Fevzipaşa Boulevard, Eşrefpaşa Street and Halil Rıfat Paşa Street below the ridges of Kadifekale. The market itself came into existence when the shallowest parts of the inner bay were filled in between 1650 and 1670, and in 2020 Kemeraltı became a Tentative World Heritage Site as part of the Historical Port City of İzmir.

Checked 2026-11-10 · Source

What's inside

The bazaar grew up around a long street, today's Anafartalar Caddesi, which winds in a wide curve along the line of the former inner bay. Its landmarks include the Hisar Mosque of 1592, the oldest and most significant Ottoman landmark in İzmir, and Kızlarağası Han, a caravanserai built in 1744 that became the nucleus of the market; of the many hans that stood here before the 1922 fire, only a dozen remain. The district is also home to the Başdurak, Kemeraltı, Kestanepazarı, Salepçioğlu and Şadırvanaltı mosques, and to the Central İzmir Synagogues, placed on the World Monuments Watch list in 2004.

Checked 2026-11-10 · Source