"MY HOMEPLACE KARSIYAKA" a Karsiyaka Travel Page by Arkeolog

Karsiyaka is like a tradition, like a tale or dream. Native people know each other and because they got the same tradition, dream etc.

I like Karsiyaka because of this tradition. Something emotional, something irresistable. Walking along seaside, watching Izmir's Kordon and having great time.

Bayrakli, the old Izmir’s settlement is in the border of Karsiyaka. It is a source of praise and an investment area for Karsiyaka. Ancient Izmir is the centre of the Ion culture and the focal point of the history of the Aegean. The teacher of the poets was born and the greatest epic was written here. Homeros and İliada-Odeysseia were written here and enlightened the ages. There is Karsiyaka in the basis of the modern civilization, culture and history. Karsiyaka is an entertainment and a resting place which the old call Cordelio. Karsiyaka is situated between the foothills of the Yamanlar Mountain and the sea. It is appraised that with its cafes, restaurants, pubs and beachbaths, Karsiyaka is equal to one thousand European cities and with the Sogukkuyu part, it is equal to one thousand Turkish cities.

Karsiyaka’s old name was Cordelio or Cordelieu. The name Cordelio comes from Richard Coeur de Lion. Coeur de Lion’s last ‘n’ had disappeared in the centuries and became Cordelio. In the 1190’s Coeur de Lion took part in the 3rd Crusader War and fought against Selahattin Eyyubi although it is not known whether he came to izmir or not. A group of some Christian Knights who were going to Jerusalem on the main road came a wooded beach belt across Izmir and set up a barrack. They gave the name of the Europe’s most glorious hero here.

Since the very ancient times, Turks have called the opposite coast of Izmir as ‘Karsiyaka’. In 1081, in Çaka Bey's time and Aydinoglu Ugur Bey the name 'karsi sahil' and 'karsi yaka' were used by the soldiers who fought in Izmir Wars. The most important speciality of Karsiyaka is that, it has Yamanlar forests which go through the coast of Izmir and green gardens as an entertaining place. The travellers who passed through this region untill eighteenth century couldn’t help telling people about this heavenly green place named Cardelio and the coast. In the eighteenth century, Karsiyaka was known as a village famous especially for its olive graves.

The railway which was built in 1865 made Karsiyaka develop faster and faster. According to the Aydin Vilayet Yearbook, there were 832 houses and population of 1080 people. That the Hamidiye Ferry Company started transportation to the wooden dock in Karsiyaka made the development faster. At those times, two settlements developed and widened equally. On the coastline, the levantires and merchants from foreign countries who bought large lands here settled here and began to build mansions and villas.

Izmir Division Commander Giritli Ferit Hüseyin Paşa made Sogukkuyu neighbourhood ready for construction for Turks. So, the Turks who used to live in Alurca- Siraliköy territories of Yamanlar widely started moving to Sogukkuyu. The first mayor of Karsiyaka Çömezzade Haci Mehmet Efendi built Sogukkuyu Mosque in 1874 and served Karsiyaka much. Izmir Division Commander Giritli Ferit Hoca Osman Paşa built the second mosque on the street of tramway to the carsi. In those years, the houses on the coast which were the properties of the laventines were used as summer resorts on Sundays, and the cordon would be so crowded and merry. Bostanli as called Papa Scala or Papa Village used to be a pier which the melons of Menemen was unloaded and landed into the ships. That’s why the Turks call the place Bostanli.

AN OLD SONG SAYS ABOUT A BEAUTIFUL GIRL FROM KARSIYAKA.

KARSIYAKALI
İpek siyah mantolu, beyaz beyaz yakali
Kalbim, kalbim carpiyor, sana sana bakali
Hem cakalisin, biraz da fiyakali
Ne güzel seysin, ne yaman seysin Karsiyakali
Karsiyaka dilberi, cok sevimli bir peri
Düstü gönül agina, seni seni seveli
Hem cakalisin, biraz da fiyakali
Ne güzel seysin, ne yaman seysin Karsiyakali

Dramalı HASAN