Audio tours can help visitors understand Jewish İzmir before or during a visit. The most useful routes connect the old Juderia, the synagogue cluster of Kemeraltı, Karataş and the wider story of Sephardi life in the city.
Use these guides as a first orientation before walking the city. For any visit that involves synagogues or community buildings, please contact İzmir JCC in advance.
- Best for visitors: start with the First Juderia route around Havra Street.
- Best for wider city memory: use KarDes for Karataş, Kemeraltı and multicultural İzmir.
- Before entering heritage sites: contact İzmir JCC for access guidance.
Available routes
KarDes: Multicultural Memory Tours
KarDes is a free mobile application developed by the Hrant Dink Foundation for Turkey's multicultural heritage and layered urban history. Available in Turkish and English, it includes more than forty memory tours and a heritage inventory of some two thousand sites across Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Diyarbakır.
In İzmir, the Karataş and Kemeraltı routes are especially relevant for Jewish heritage, connecting oral history, neighbourhood memory, synagogues, schools, cemeteries and everyday city life.
İzmir: The First Juderia
This free audio guide introduces İzmir's first Jewish settlement area around Kemeraltı and Havra Street. It is part of the Jewish History Tours network and focuses on the old Juderia, the synagogue cluster and the streets around it.
- 70 minutes
- 12 stops
- 24 stories
- 5 audio languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian and German
Before planning an in-person visit, check Contact İzmir JCC for access guidance. Some heritage sites require advance coordination.