While staying at the running training camp in Iten, Kenya I met a fellow runner, Kevin, who hailed from Turkey. When I asked where in Turkey he was from, he looked at me and responded in a way that indicated that he possibly received the question a lot from people who could not name a Turkish city outside Istanbul. After he explained that he was from a city named Izmir on the Aegean coast I informed him that I had a visit to the city planned just over one month later.
After landing in Izmir in the late afternoon my sister and I met up with Kevin for dinner. While walking to dinner he pointed out his usual running spot so it was no huge surprise when we spotted him the following morning on a nice run through that very park. We then proceeded to walk around Izmir before catching a train to Selçuk.
That afternoon we visited the tourist sights around town since we would be heading out for day trips on the two following days. We walked alongside the Roman aqueduct and enjoyed wandering around the Basilica of St John, but unfortunately the apparently-impressive archaeological museum was closed for renovation.
Checked Off The List 