Ali Paşa Meydanı

About Ali Paşa Meydanı

Ali Paşa Meydanı is a historic square inside the Kemeraltı bazaar, on some of the last land gained by filling in İzmir's old Inner Harbour. Visit İzmir, the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality's tourism portal, notes that Oikonomos referred to the reclaimed ground as the Ali Paşa Viranesi in a book of 1817, while a source of 1827 also called it the Ships' Landing (Gemiler İskelesi). Engravings of the period show caravans unloading here and camels and horses at rest. Over the years buildings filled the open ground and the square shrank to its present size. From the mid 19th century it was the focus of the İzmir bazaar, ringed by inns (hans) that have not survived. As the first planned square in İzmir, it holds an important place in Ottoman planning history. The square and its hans served as a kind of exchange until the İzmir Commodity Exchange opened in 1891, and until the early 20th century it hosted the city's livestock market. Its symbol is the Hacı Salih Paşa Şadırvanı, an ablution fountain that still offers water to visitors. The area is also known as Taşçılar İçi, after the millstone makers who once worked here. Today traders from many trades share the square, which stays lively with street musicians and regulars.