Physical Aspects
Two large streets parallel to the coastline, named the First Kordon and the Second Kordon (Turkish: Birinci Kordon and İkinci Kordon), constitute the main arterial roads of the quarter. A level area situated in an alluvial plain, with well-designed streets, modern apartment blocks and stores, the city's trendiest and the most expensive and exclusive residences and commercial space are found here, as well as the busiest office buildings, including consulates.
Two major hotels in partnership with international brandnames of the industry, Swissôtel and Hilton, are located towards the Konak end of the area, just behind the Square of the Republic (Turkish: Cumhuriyet Meydanı) distinguishable by the wide space with which it marks a point along the length of the esplanade and an equestrian statue of Atatürk, to whose honor a museum in the premises of a former mansion is also present towards the eastern end of Alsancak.
Atatürk Museum, whose building is a survivor of the transformation in recent decades of coastline residences from terraced double-storey houses to apartment blocks, also offers visitors a chance to have a glimpse of how the lives of the wealhty in 19th century İzmir was like.
Many restaurants, bars, cafes, discothèques and other entertainment venues are concentrated in Alsancak, increasingly within the intact rows of older and more traditional one- or two-storied buildings found in the inner smaller streets and are often restored specifically for the purpose of the intended commercial activity. Kültürpark, the distinct location of the İzmir International Fair, is also englobed by the area of the quarter of Alsancak in both administrative and practical terms.
The newest and the most attended synagogue of İzmir, "Shar Hashamayim" is also in Alsancak where increasing numbers of the city's remaining Jews opt to live, moving in from their traditional nighborhood of Karataş.
The Port of İzmir, İzmir Alsancak Stadium and Alsancak Railway Station are also located in Alsancak.
Read more about this topic: Alsancak
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