Urla: Food-Art-Food

A beautiful spring day — a bit breezy; but with blue skies and sunshine to mitigate the chill.

To make the most of it, we began our day early with a 40-minute drive to Urla, a town in the Province of İzmir.

First up, a delicious breakfast at Léone, a patisserie and boulangerie in the town center. Delicious food … beautiful presentation … excellent service. So glad we arrived early as within minutes of being seated, there was not a single table left empty.

Next, we drove the short distance to Arkas Sanat Urla, an art museum that was founded by the Arkas Family to feature their collection of art … paintings, sculptures, carpets, tapestries, and more … some from Turkey, others from abroad.

What a wonderful museum … bright and airy … housed in a custom-built building on the family estate. No admission … which is flabbergasting, but is in line with the family’s “… passion for reaching art to large masses and contributing to Izmir’s cultural life, …”

Then, we drove down to the Urla waterfront to check out what is billed as a maritime archaeology museum. Not much there … a couple of old boats … a scale model of a fishing village. There’s a lot of work to be done before I’d call this place a museum.

Finally, we wrapped up with beverages and sweet treats at Fırın Vourla, a café/restaurant on the Urla waterfront. Despite the breeze, we found a secluded table on the terrace so that we could enjoy the beautiful day as we ate our treats.

What a great way to spend one of only two days we have left with family on this short visit to Turkey,Read more