Far from the main tourist routes, Tire is a small and very lively town, with a typically Turkish atmosphere. After the ugliness of the modern suburbs which devour the plain, it comes as a great relief to discover, up in the hills, a village where time seems to have stopped. The more one climbs, the more the alleyways become sinuous, narrow and steep. It is easy to get lost between themulticolured façades of the old Ottoman houses, which face the street with elegant moucharabies. There are delightful surprises along the way; the porch of a minuscule mosque, with a tile roof, or a small cobblestone square, where little girls skip.
Below the old city, the bazaar is housed inside an ancient caravanserai, restored with much care. Like Izmir’s, it has walls of alternate pink brick and white marble. This is a good opportunity for shopping in a much more authentic atmosphere.