If you are interested to see old style architecture and properties in İzmir, we definitely advise you to visit the following villages:
Barbaros Village, Urla
Barbaros Village serves as a natural setting for many television series. On the other hand, the main thing that makes the village interesting is the Scarecrow Festival. Since the festival, which was held for the first time in 2016, attracted a lot of attention, the villagers decided to make this festival a tradition. In Barbaros Village, there are houses called Çatkapı Evleri, which you have not seen before. You can enter these houses and fill your stomach for a certain fee.
Germiyan Village, Çeşme
Germiyan Village, has a lot of white houses and colourful patterns on the walls of the houses. The main reason that makes Germiyan Village special is that it has broken new ground in Turkey. Germiyan Village, which is the first and only village with the “Slow Food” title in the country, has abandoned chemicals in agricultural activities and returned to traditional and clean agriculture.
Bademler Village, Urla
After seeing this village, the concept of village in your mind will be reshaped. The majority of the population living in the village, whose history dates back about 300 years, is Alevi. The village has been selected as the cleanest village in the country by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization.
Kosedere Village, Karaburun
Grape Festival takes place in Kösedere Village every year in August. The people of the village, who have been dealing with viticulture since ancient times, also protect this value. We recommend you to visit this beautiful Aegean village, which is one of the sought after places of television series with its natural beauty.
Uzbek Village, Urla
The name of the village originated as it was founded by immigrants from around Uzbekistan in the past, and it is most famous for its stone houses. In Uzbek, which is a fishing village, most of the villagers make their living from fish. If you happen to be in the Özbek Village, of course, you should definitely taste the fish. There are many restaurants in the village. But the most famous one is Akın’s Yeri, which has a 50-year history.
Saip Village, Karaburun
The village, which is about 3 km from Karaburun, has an ancient history. Greek and Turkish citizens once lived in peace and tolerance, gave way to despair after the population exchange. After this date, Saip Village started to fade, so to speak. The village, which has a pier, was once a trade centre, but after the declining population, it lost its effectiveness in trade. Today, the people of Saip make their living from animal husbandry, agriculture and fishing.
Village of Şirince
Şirince, a mountain village in the Selçuk district of İzmir, is undoubtedly one of the most aesthetic villages in Turkey. The stone mansions where families lived in the past are mostly boutique hotels or restaurants/cafes. Its architecture, nature, feeling, everything is very beautiful. If you climb up to the highest parts of the village it is like wandering back in time.
The village is also popular for its home-made wines.
Bergama
Bergama is one of the most valuable treasures of humanity with its rich historical and cultural values. There are important visiting places belonging to Archaic, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods in and around the district centre.
Bergama is a settlement that has hosted many civilizations since Antiquity and has many historical and cultural values. Pergamon Museum, Turkey’s first archaeology museum is among the most known and visited museums today. Because of the UNESCO registration in the World Cultural Heritage list, there has been an increase in the number of tourists coming to Bergama and the duration of their stay.
In order to experience the local culture, it is always nice to get lost in the back streets of a small town. A few hours of wandering around in Bergama are perfect introductions to the local way of life.