İzmir: Around Kültürpark

Although it was much warmer than yesterday, the temp today was forecast to be cooler than the 90F+ temps expected starting tomorrow. In other words, a good time to take mom out for some fresh air.

For a change of pace, we were going to go to Kordon — the Alsancak waterfront. But my nephew, Hakan, was in the neighborhood and suggested that he might be able to get away for a bit to join us if we went to the fuar (fair) … which is the name by which most locals refer to Kültürpark, the green space in the center of the city. So, we jiggled our loose plans and headed in that direction.

On this outing, we asked Klara, mom’s caregiver, to join us … to make sure she knew how to operate the ins and outs of mom’s new wheelchair … much lighter and smaller.

We lucked out with a table in the shade at İzmir Sanat, a café at the fairgrounds. And yes, Hakan was able to join us briefly.

Kültürpark is home to the annual İzmir International Fair, which is held … well, I’m not sure exactly when the abbreviated fair is held these days, but it was a month-long late-summer event when I was a kid growing up in İzmir. At that time, each participating country had its own pavilion to promote itself and its products. In recent years, several of the buildings have been re-purposed. Two of them host temporary exhibitions. So, after lunch, we decided to check out the current installations.

First up … the Atlas Pavilion … “Between Two Lines: A Look at the İzmir of the Future from Today.” In addition to displaying a collection of historical photos, the exhibition “… invites the citizens to dream of a common future …” through workshops, discussions, and more. It was most interesting to see archival photos of the city … many of which ‘pre-dated us’ by a century or two 😄.

Our visit today was necessarily quick, so if I have time before we leave, I would like to go back for a more in-depth look.

On our way to the Lozan Gate of the fairgrounds, we stopped to check out a second installation … at what is still referred to as the Pakistan Pavilion. Featured at this group exhibition, entitled “Tesir” (Impression), was art created using the “ebru” (marbling) technique. It was different in many ways from the “ebru” exhibition we went to earlier this week as many of the pieces were collages. We all enjoyed the colorful art, but with no A/C inside the pavilion, it was a bit uncomfortable in the mid-day heat.

Thus we wrapped up two weeks of our three-week trip to İzmir. How time flies when you are having fun!Read more