Mug Shot — «Izmir - Saat Kulesi»

City: Izmir Country: Turkey Edition: 2008 Icon Edition Belongs to: 436 users (26 trading, 154 seeking)

Izmir (is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia and the third most populous city in Turkey. Izmir metropolitan area extends along the outlying waters of the Gulf of İzmir and inland to the north across Gediz River's delta, to the east along an alluvial plain created by several small streams and to a slightly more rugged terrain in the south. The ancient city was known as Smyrna, and the city was generally referred to as Smyrna in English, until the Turkish Postal Services Law of 1930 made "Izmir" the internationally recognized name. The city of Izmir is composed of several metropolitan districts. Of these, Konak district corresponds to historical Izmir, this district's area having constituted the "Izmir Municipality" area until 1984, Konak until then having been a name for a central neighborhood around Konak Square, still the core of the city. With the constitution of the "Greater Izmir Metropolitan Municipality" the city of Izmir became a compound bringing together initially nine, and since recently eleven metropolitan districts. Almost each of these settlements are former district centers or neighborhoods which stood on their own and with their own distinct features and temperament. In an ongoing processus, the Mayor of Izmir was also vested with authority over the areas of additional districts reaching from Aliağa in the north to Selçuk in the south, bringing the number of districts to be considered as being part of Izmir to twenty-one under the new arrangements, two of these having been administratively included in Izmir only partially.

İzmir Clock Tower (Saat Kulesi) is a historic clock tower located at the Konak Square in Konak district of İzmir, Turkey. The clock tower was designed by the Levantine French architect Raymond Charles Père and built in 1901 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Abdülhamid II's accession to the throne. The clock itself was a gift of German Emperor Wilhelm II. It is decorated in an elaborate Ottoman architecture. The tower which has an iron and lead skeleton, at a height of 25 m, features four fountains which are placed around the base in a circular pattern, and the columns are inspired by Moorish themes. The clock tower was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 500 lira banknotes of 1983-1989.

photo by lucky
edited by mobydick74

  Turkey, Izmir

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