Narlıdere Sahili

Narlıdere Coast is a seafront strip on the southern shore of the Gulf of İzmir, between Balçova and Güzelbahçe, made up of footpaths, cycle lanes and seating areas concentrated mainly in front of the Sahilevleri neighbourhood. It was laid out in two phases under İzmir Metropolitan Municipality's İzmirDeniz coastal design project, and according to TGRT Haber the result is a landscaped shoreline of about 2.6 kilometres in total. The first phase was about 1.6 kilometres long and opened in a December. The second phase of roughly one kilometre was planned to be finished the following summer; the same report notes that people were already using the shore before the work was complete. The most photographed part of the scheme is the sunset terrace with its timber-look deck, built in the same style as the one in Bostanlı. Facing west along the gulf, the terrace is a good spot to watch the sun set over open water rather than behind the hills of Karşıyaka and Yamanlar. For those who want to get closer to the sea, four small fishing piers were built along the shore. The benches are made of natural stone and precast concrete, which makes it easy to take short breaks during a long walk. The project also includes a cycle lane of about one kilometre and a station of BİSİM, the city's bike sharing system. The planting was chosen to withstand salty sea air and wind and to stay green all year. The report lists juniper, tamarisk, oleaster and bay laurel, along with ground covers such as gazania and ice plant and colourful shrubs such as oleander, gaura, berberis, butterfly bush and lavender. This choice keeps the shore from looking bare in winter, and in spring, when the lavender and oleander are in flower, it adds colour to the walk. Baku Park lies within the second phase at Sahilevleri, and new play equipment for children is grouped in this part of the shore. Narlıdere's past is bound up with the headland just east of the shore. According to Wikipedia the Romans called the area Akhilleion, a name that meant water passage or strait in the Luwian language. The district history published by the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism says that, according to Hittite inscriptions, the area was under Luwian rule around 2000 BC. In the Ottoman period the same headland was known as Sancakkale because of the castle built there in 1666 on the orders of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. Known as Sancakburnu Castle or Yenikale, it was built to control the narrowest point of the gulf, and today it lies within Balçova in a military zone, so it cannot be visited. The directorate's page says the district is believed to take its name from the pomegranate trees around the Ali Onbaşı stream, and that the name Tozluyurt also appears in the land registers. The same source puts the district population at 2655 in the 1950s and links the rise to 54 thousand in the 2000s to summer houses on the coast and to migration for citrus farming. In 1992 Narlıdere merged with Güzelbahçe to form a district called Narlıbahçe, and in December 1993 the two were separated again. According to Wikipedia about 1500 homes in the district are heated with geothermal energy, a reminder that the area lies close to the same underground source as the Balçova hot springs. Care is needed when it comes to swimming. According to a report in Cumhuriyet, Narlıdere Municipality announced plans for a Blue Flag public beach at Limanreis after seawater tests by the Provincial Health Directorate and İZSU came back clean. Check the district municipality's announcements before you go for the current status of that plan and for the spots suitable for swimming. Rather than swimming off the rock-armoured shore, walking, cycling and fishing are the main ways people use this coast. Getting to the shore has been very easy since 2024. Line M1 of the İzmir Metro was extended by a seven-station section from Fahrettin Altay to Narlıdere, and the last station, Narlıdere Kaymakamlık, opened on 4 March 2024. From the metro, walk north towards the sea and cross Mithatpaşa Avenue to reach the seafront; ESHOT buses running along the coast road are another option, so check current routes on the ESHOT website. Cyclists can reach Narlıdere by following the continuous path along the Balçova and İnciraltı shore. The best times to visit are spring evenings and the mild days of autumn. In summer there is little shade on the shore at midday, so it is more comfortable to arrive towards sunset. In winter the wind off the gulf is strong, but on a clear day Karşıyaka and the mountains behind it stand out sharply on the far shore. You can extend the walk west towards Güzelbahçe or turn east and continue as far as the urban forest at İnciraltı.