Konak (District), İzmir

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Konak
Konak Square
Konak Square
Location of Konak within Turkey.
Location of Konak within Turkey.
Country Flag of Turkey Turkey
Region Aegean
Province İzmir
Population (2000)
 - Total 782,309
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 35x xx
Area code(s) 0232
Licence plate 35
Website: www.konak.bel.tr

Konak is a district of İzmir Province of Turkey and one of the metropolitan districts of İzmir city. It is also the historic center of İzmir.Containg the famous Konak Square with the Izmir Clock Tower.

The name Konak was previously used for the historic central quarter as well as for the key central square (Konak Meydanı) of the quarter in İzmir. For example, Karşıyaka along the opposing northern shore did not always consider itself strictly part of İzmir, or in any case, it had marking specifities and points of rivalry. In 1987, the territory of former district of İzmir central city of was re-named as the district of Konak (excepting the quarter of Buca which was turned into a separate district), and the name İzmir implies the entire metropolitan area since then.

Konak district starts at the tip of the Gulf of İzmir and follows the southern shoreline, englobing such prominent quarters of İzmir as, respectively from east to west, Alsancak, Konak Square proper and Kemeraltı bazaar area, Karataş, Göztepe (famous for its football team) among others along the coast, as well as the hillside zone behind these, notably the quarter of Hatay. The district of Konak has an urban tissue in its entirety.

Konak Square by night
Konak Square by night

For both the metropolitan area and the İzmir Province in general, Konak still represents the administrative nerve center, with the governorship, the offices of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, the historic bazaar area of Kemeraltı and other important administrative and private headquarters situated within the boundaries of Konak. The name konak itself means, inter alia, government house or official residence in Turkish and refers in the case of Konak to the still-standing residence built for the governor when the seat of the vilayet of Aydın was transferred to İzmir in 1865.

In recent years, there is a move toward decentralization and extension, notably with the building of a new and huge courthouse in Bornova.

The core areas of Konak Square and Kemeraltı were formed with the filling in due course during the 17th century of the shallow inner bay of İzmir and immediate outer coastal reaches. Kemeraltı bazaar came into existence with the filling between 1650-1670 of the shallowest parts of the bay and the process of gaining ground from the sea bay was pursued progressively. The shoreline took its present form by the end of the 18th century in approximate terms, although some of the land along the berth remained unused till the mid-19th century.

General view of Konak Square end of 19th century, with the Ottoman casern Sarıkışla (the Yellow Casern) and the yet unused landfill in the foreground, and the governor's residence, the square and the ships at the quay in the background
General view of Konak Square end of 19th century, with the Ottoman casern Sarıkışla (the Yellow Casern) and the yet unused landfill in the foreground, and the governor's residence, the square and the ships at the quay in the background

In 1829, Sarı Kışla, the Yellow Casern, the principal Ottoman casern of the city, gigantic for its time, was built at immediate sea-side, and a private residence (konak) situated slightly diagonally behind the casern was extended and converted into the governor's mansion, demarcating Konak Square that holds its name from the mansion, and which in its turn gave the name to the central metropolitan district of İzmir (Konak), and at the level of which Kemeraltı is considered to start. The Yellow Casern was demolished in 1955 under express instructions from the then Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who wanted to see Konak Square re-shaped, to the continuing regret of many Smyrniots who had come to adopt the oversize building as one of the main landmarks of their city.

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