Scenes from Smyrni

 A hundred years ago, when Eleftherios Venizelos, the Greek Prime Minister, and Kamal Ataturk, the Turkish statesman, pushed for their conflicting, expansionist dreams for their respective countries in what is now Western and Northern Turkey, the Greek residents of Smyrni/ Izmir paid a grim price. Many lost their lives, families, homes and businesses. Some managed to escape and came to Greece as refugees – they were the lucky ones.  Having heard so much about its sad history, I was delighted to undertake a consultancy visit to Smyrni. I was even more delighted when Z agreed that he drive us there and extend the trip for a little tourism on the side.

We arrived there at night and on the sea-front we spied our hotel – a welcome sight after our 12-hour drive. That’s a statue of Ataturk in the background as this square is dedicated to him.

Our hotel is very central in the 5-star category, a posh affair- the entrance is be-decked with beautiful orchids, the furniture upholstered in a rich burgundy velvet. Feel quite regal, really! 😊

The next day, since it is not far off, we decided to go for a sea-front stroll to see the Greek Consulate. It is housed in a beautiful old building which has been renovated, as has the building next door to it, the French Consulate.

 On our last full day, we explore further and come across the university here. In Greece many of the state university buildings are in a deplorable state and are covered in grimy graffiti. It was a pleasure to see this clean, well-maintained institution – an alma mater to be proud of.

This is the pier building: very dear to the Smyrnaians and particularly noteworthy for being designed in 1890 by the architect/construction engineer, Gustave Eiffel who is well-known for having designed the famous Parisian tower – imagine!

Without even feeling obliged to identify this construct, I snapped it and include it here because it was a pretty building and because it was pink!

All that tourist traipsing has been fascinating but just a wee bit fatiguing. Definitely time to rest up and sink into the luxury of the burgundy velvet throne. :) That’s the living.