Eski Foca: Little Fishing Village on Northern Aegean Coast

One of my all-time favourite destinations in Turkey is the northern Aegean coast, which stretches all the way from the Gallipoli Peninsula to the quaint little fishing village of Eski Foca, near Izmir. Like its Greek neighbours on the island of Lesbos across the Aegean, Eski Foca has a distinctive feel of wind-swept small-town rustic charm about it, which makes for a lasting impression. 

 

About 1 hour by car or bus from Izmir, Eski Foca is a popular weekend getaway for city dwellers from Izmir. On weekends, the little bars and restaurants which line the harbour front remain open until late in the night. Many of the small meyhanes (wine bars) also have live music performances in the evening. Due to the presence of a large military barrack right outside the centre of the town, the whole village has probably one of the highest concentration of internet cafes in the whole of Turkey.

 

The thing which I really like about Eski Foca is, unlike many of the resort towns on the Aegean coast, there are very few foreign tourists hanging around in this town, and this lack of European-oriented tourism gives Eski Foca a very authentic, unassuming and down-to-earth flaire. 

Like many formerly Greek villages on the Aegean coast, Eski Foca has many traditional Greek houses which have now been restored and converted into inns, hotels and cafes. The centre of the town is composed of small, narrow streets much like those found in any small rural Greek villages on the Greek Aegean islands.

The town's social life is focused around the lively cafes and restaurant scene along the small fishing harbour in the centre of the town. Prices are not expensive by Turkish standards, and one gets some really good local cookings in Eski Foca.

The town used to be a Genovese trading post in Asia Minor, and a somewhat dilapildated fortress castle built by the Genovese still guards the entrance to the harbour till this day. 

 

 

There are several mid-price range hotels in Eski Foca, as well as one luxury boutique hotel near the Genovese castle. From Izmir's central bus station, bus leaves every hour during the day to Foca.

 

Copyrights@2010. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.