On the train fromĀ Selcuk, I was reading about how close Greece was to Izmir. With daily coast-to-coast ferries, I regretted not Ā planning a trip despite of a valid Schengen visa.Ā On arriving, we were all extremely hungry and headed to a cafe on the main street connecting Basmane station with the coast.
We noticed an unusual transition in the anthropological scene. Instead of an European influence, we noticed more Arabic features. We saw garment stores selling life jackets & tubes. Some suspicious men were walking in and out of the cafe. In a flash second, all dots connected in my head. Izmir was the starting point for refugee death boats headed to the Greek coast. The unraveling of facts and accompanying images only saddened us.
We woke up in the morning to go around the city, but there wasn’t much to do.
We took a flight back to Istanbul Ataturk, and then aĀ metroĀ to Taksim for Day 8 – the last day of ourĀ Turkey Roadtrip.