Bostanlı Sahili

Bostanlı Sahili is the strip of promenade, parks and piers that runs along the northern shore of the Gulf of İzmir at the western end of Karşıyaka. Although the quarter is today one of the most crowded neighbourhoods of the district, its past rests on a small landing stage: records from 1890 call the place Menemen İskelesi, and around 1900 it appears under the Greek name Papaskala, meaning "the priest's pier". According to Karşıyaka Municipality, Bostanlı, also called Papas Köyü, was the landing where melons and watermelons from the Menemen plain were loaded onto boats. The backbone of the coastal strip is Hasan Ali Yücel Bulvarı and the tram line running parallel to it; on the sea side lie Bostanlı Sahil Parkı and the Atatürk Monument. At the eastern end of the shore stands Bostanlı Ferry Terminal. Built by Turkish Maritime Enterprises between 1989 and 1993, the terminal opened in 1993; on a site of 20,000 square metres it has an operations building with 2,500 square metres of usable space. The terminal takes both passenger and car ferries; sailings go towards Karşıyaka, Konak, Alsancak and Üçkuyular, and it is operated by İZDENİZ. Check the current timetable and fares on the official İZDENİZ website. In the park right next to the terminal is the Bostanlı Open-Air Archaeology Museum, opened in 1987. Here sarcophagi, column capitals, human and animal statues and Roman and Byzantine tombs dated between the 10th century BC and the 3rd century AD are displayed in the open, in the middle of the seaside walk. Most visitors pass these stones without noticing them; give them a few minutes. At the western end of the shore, where the Bostanlı stream flows into the gulf, stand the two best-known structures of the coast: the Bostanlı Pedestrian Bridge and the Sunset Terrace. Both were built to the design of Studio Evren Başbuğ in the first implementation phase, named Karşıkıyı, of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality's İzmirDeniz project, and both opened to the public in the summer of 2016. The terrace consists of thermally treated wooden platforms stepping down towards the sea from an artificial tree-planted hill. Visitors sit with their backs to the hill and their legs stretched out towards the water; the terrace was created to watch the sunset from one of the rare west-facing points of Karşıyaka. The bridge is a steel structure clad in thermal wood; its tiered section allows people to sit and even lie on it, and the floating dock at the mouth of the stream brings boats down to sea level. The public space on the shore covers 36,000 square metres in total, and the open area taken up by the bridge and terrace is 8,800 square metres. Around the terrace there are picnic tables, table tennis and chess tables, and decorative lighting that comes on in the evening. In 2019 the project received the public space design award in the Building/Environment category of the Chamber of Architects' 16th National Architecture Exhibition and Awards. The people of İzmir adopted the terrace quickly; XXI magazine describes it as "the city's living room". Along the shore, walking, running and cycling paths, bicycle parking, children's playgrounds and seating areas continue without interruption. Looking west you see the tall blocks of Mavişehir, looking south the centre of İzmir on the opposite shore of the gulf. At sunset the sun drops into the western mouth of the gulf, and the crowd on the terrace lasts from late afternoon until midnight. Come in the cool of the evening in summer, and dress for the wind in winter. Bostanlı's neighbourhood market, held on Wednesdays, is one street back from the shore; once a month a second-hand market is also set up. Getting here is easy: the Bostanlı İskele stop of the T1 tram is in front of the terminal, the Nergiz station of İZBAN lies on the inland side of the neighbourhood, and there are two Bisim bike-share stations. Coming directly to Bostanlı pier on the ferry from Konak is the most pleasant way. Walking west along the shore from Karşıyaka Ferry Terminal takes roughly two and a half kilometres, with the sea always on your left. The suggested order for a visit is this: first the terminal and the open-air museum, then west along the seaside park, and finally the terrace and the bridge. For photographs, the angle from the top of the bridge looking towards the terrace and the setting sun has become a classic; in the morning hours the shore is emptier and the light comes from the pier side. Because the terrace is wooden it can be slippery after rain. The shore and the terrace are open at all hours and free of charge. Bostanlı links the Karşıyaka waterfront to Mavişehir; those who want to extend the walk can continue west along the coastal road.