Kemeraltı is a neighborhood and bazaar in Izmir, Turkey, starting from the cemetery district in the Konak district and reaching up to Konak Square, where commercial activities are intense. Fevzipaşa Street and Eşrefpaşa Street form the land boundaries of the bazaar.
it was formed with the filling of the sea coast from 1650-1670 and the opening of new residential areas and commercial establishments. the line of this spread, which was started from the location of the Hisar Mosque, built in 1592, forms the line of the old sea coast in another way, today’s Anafartalar Street. One of the most important buildings that have survived to the present day is Kizlarağası Hanı, built by Hacı Beşir Ağa in 1744. Apart from this, a large number of inns have been built in the district. There are also many historical synagogues.
In its early years, the Kemeraltı Bazaar had the appearance of a covered bazaar with vaults and tiles covering the streets. Bazaar 19. it has maintained this feature until the end of the century. Some of the alleyways that are open today were covered with a cradle vault over Dec.
19. this bazaar, which was the life point of Izmir’s commercial life in the century, included old inns and bedestens. The shops here were mostly providing for the needs of local people and low-income families. The bazaar included trading houses such as blacksmiths, coal miners, nail makers, spice dealers and hay Sunday. Each trading house in the bazaar had formed separate sections in groups.
Today, Kemeraltı Bazaar has moved away from this feature and has become an important shopping center of Izmir. Although some shops with vaults and domes have preserved their characteristics, mostly modern business centers, shops, cafeterias and cinemas are gathered here. In addition to these, there are also shops where ceramics, tile panels, wood artifacts, mineral artifacts, flat woven spreads and carpets and rugs are sold, reflecting examples of Turkish handicrafts.
During excavations at the entrance of the bazaar in 2016, a Roman bathhouse dating back about 1800 years was uncovered, but it was covered with moss and reeds due to the lack of necessary maintenance.
Since July 2018, the bazaar, which is closed to the entrance of motor vehicles at certain hours, has been pedestrianized. Kemeraltı was included in the World Heritage Tentative List in 2020 as part of the heritage area created by UNESCO under the name of “Izmir Historical Port City”.
