Kemeraltı is Changing

The years the 1950s indicate a turning point both for Turkey and The Historical Kemeraltı Bazaar. Till these years you were able to find anything you would like from clothing to pharmacies, stationery to theatres, basically everything in Kemeraltı. The Bazaar which had served both the rich and the poor as a center of commerce slowly started to return to the mass shoe production place. Yusuf Rıza Primary School which was the only primary school in Izmir in those times became a truck traffic place for shoe production.

From Regression To Downfall

After the 2nd World War, Turkey was trying to gain a place in the market. The multi-party liberal period which started in the 1950s put Izmir like Turkey into a new configuration. With Izmir liven up a little bit, internal migration which started as a minor problem became a major problem. This internal migration also started squatting which ended with an ugly outer view for Izmir. Thus it took a step to become a metropolitan. With the population and demand growing, apartments substituted garden and low-story story houses on the seaside. Also, the profile in Kemeraltı changed and uncontrolled growth nearly brought the area to collapse.

Kemeraltı which was a center of living commerce and tourism once became a pedlar spot thus a place where Izmir folk didn’t prefer also because of safety reasons.