Mui orders a cup of coffee to wrap up our lunch — Konak, İzmir.

A glimpse of the iconic landmarks of Konak Square, İzmir.

Konak Mosque window detail — Konak Square, İzmir.

A peek inside the Konak Mosque — Konak Square, İzmir.

A "making memories at the iconic clock tower" selfie — Konak, İzmir.

Detail from the iconic Clock Tower" — Konak, İzmir.

Konak Square

May 5, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

From the Agora, Mui and I headed into Kemeraltı, the shopping district, and grabbed some döner for lunch from Özev, the restaurant Murat took us to a few days ago.

Then, we meandered to Konak Square to reach the waterfront for the stroll back to Alsancak.

There are two iconic structures in the square.

One is the Konak Mosque, which has a rather unique octagonal floor plan. The exterior of the windows are banded with tiles from Kütahya, a Turkish province that is famous for its tile works. The mosque, which dates back to 1748, has been restored several times ... most recently in 1964.

The other structure in the square is the historic Clock Tower, which was inaugurated in 1901 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sultan Abdul Hamid II's accession to the throne. The top was destroyed twice during earthquakes, most recently in 1974. The tower, considered the symbol of the city and the province, underwent restoration in 2019.Read more