Hi here is an idea for you. If you have a car them myself personally I would stay in the small town of Selcuk instead of Izmir. Selcuk is very close to visit the ruins of Ephesus, the church of St John the Baptist and also the Virgin Mary's house. Aslo the village of Sirince is very close by and well noted for wonderful old ottoman stone houses and it's famous wines and vinyards.

Izmir is nice but it is a large city. It has a few really nice hotels located on the waterfront as well as many historical sites to visit. You can visit KADIFE Castle, Roman Bath, KERMER ALTI the half covered bazaar in Izmir. SYMIRNA is another place for ruins you may visit.

have a look at this web site for more info on Izmir http://www.izmirtourism.com/

the enitire Aegean coastline is full of wonderful historical areas to visit and another one is the anceint city of Pergamon located in Bergama.

have a super trip

thanks for link!
its a good idea to stay in selcuk town, i will have a look at the map, then we'll stay for some days in selcuk and for some days in Izmir, cause my husband has some plans for shopping also. Ive heard the choice of furniture in Izmir is better than in Marmaris( we need some furniture for our house).

Firstly Izmir is the third biggest city of Turkey with about 4 million people, So there are many places to see and many things to do there. Myself lived there for 2 years so really love there.

One tip for you If you are looking for quality furniture which are cheap, A part of Izmir Karabaglar is one of the biggest furniture production center in Turkey, It is on the way to Izmir Adnan Menderes airport from the city center, If you land at Adnan Menderes airport, while going to the city center on the way you will see Karabaglar and you will see lots of big furniture shops on the road.

For historical places, Ephesus ancient town located in Selcuk is really worth a visit and 75 km from Izmir.

Hope this helps and you have a good holiday

If you have any question,pls feel free to ask

Mustafa

We will go by car from Marmaris. Should we go to the center to find Karabaglar?

Hi,

From the south while driving to Izmir, You will be passing Adnan Menderes Airport then a town called Gaziemir after passing Agean Free Zone, Karabaglar starts there, So on the right and left hand sides, you will be seeing lots of furniture shops and factories. So you should not go to the city center to find Karabaglar, It is on your way

Hope i can help you

Mustafa

thanks, I got it now. I ve travelled all over South coast from Alanya to Bodrum and I am so exciting to see Aegean

You are welcome,

Izmir is a great place, Enjoy it

Hi turtle,

Enjoy your trip and I know that you will have a great time. When we went to Selcuk we stayed at the http://www.hotelakay.com/ a great little hotel is a super location near the Isa Bey Mosque and the church of St. John the Baptist. Also ate a great dinner at the Amazon restaurant down the street from the hotel.

Aslo be sure to check out some of the sites around Selcuk like the archeological sites of Priene, Miletus and Didyma.

Have fun

thank you for hotel link! no prices on the site but I hope they speak English if I call

Hi you are more than welcome. I would assume that they should speak some English at the hotel but yes call and check out their prices. As I am from Antalya and have lived here for 10 years now my turkish is good enough to get by so there was not a problem for us.

We stayed in the newer section of the hotel and it is a bit more pricey but in my opinion worth it. There are 2 sections to this hotel the newer and the older. On the web site however they just are showing the new part. Which is were we stayed. As for the price it was in off season so I really cannot say what it would be in April but I would also assume that the prices would not be as high as in the summer or high season.

Have a super time !!! If you go tell them hi from the family of 5 from Antalya, they might remember us. We stayed there in early Feb.