Maternity & baby gear in Izmir

As some of the readers of this blog know, Izmir Blogger is pregnant. So lately, one of my key preoccupations has been finding maternity clothes....

I had noticed that the locals are crazy about kids and so the abundancy of toy shops as well as children's furniture shops came as no surprise. But I must say, I was relieved and happy to find quite a few places selling maternity clothes & gear as well.

I thought I'd share my little discoveries with you.

I've listed places that are non-specialist as well as the proper maternity/ baby shops since this year's fashion (empire line and feminine dresses, tops and leggings) has made it a lot easier to wear larger sized non-maternity clothes... at least for the first few months!

MUMS, BABIES & TODDLERS:
Benetton in Agora shopping mall (Balcova) and Alsancak have a maternity corner with a selection of capri trousers, wrap around tops, t-shirts and cardigans as well as a larger selection of baby to toddler clothes.

Bostanli market: If you don't want to invest in maternity clothes, this is the place to go! Bargain track-suit bottoms, t-shirts and practical cotton shirts from 5-10 ytl. I also found some H&M maternity pants there for 15 ytl (pictured left), and saw at least 3 stalls selling baby clothes.
The thing with markets is that supply varies, so you have to go often. If you have "early birds" among your friends, ask them to let you know if they spot things of interest and try to go there the same day. (Bostanli market is on every Wednesday in Bostanli, Karsiyaka)

Mothercare: there are two of these, one in Karsiyaka in the Carrefour shopping centre, and one in Alsancak (pictured right, on Kültür Mah. 1386 Sk. 8/B, Tel. 0232.465.16.36 just off Mustafa Bey Caddesi. Where exactly? If you are standing with your back to Starbuck's, cross the road, walk away from the sea and take the first right. Mothercare is directly opposite Gloria Jean's Coffee one street up (parallel) from the one next to Mango.

The ground floor is full of clothing for toddlers and babies, but they also stock maternity bras, maternity nighties and some dresses. Go upstairs for the baby clothes and baby related gear (bath tubs, baby dressing gowns, muslin wipes, nursing bras & breast pads, sterilizers, prams, bump seat belts, nursing pillows, etc.)
N.B. you may "order" from the catalogues available in the shops.

MUMS ONLY:
Top-shop in Alsancak and Bornova Forum have very cute A-line dresses, cardigans and tops in a variety of designs and colors. Also the Alsancak shop has a very small selection of maternity clothes that can be handy for tops that are longer in the front, maternity trousers and maternity hosiery for wearing dresses until the weather warms up! Top-shop is not cheap, but definitely trendy!

Hamile Giyim:
Dr. Mustafabey Cad. N° 11/A Alsancak. Tel 0232.465.00.47 (Walking away from Starbucks and the Kordon towards "Bonjour" café on your left).
A small selection of maternity jeans, capri pants, skirts as well as dresses and tops.


Not far from there, walking towards the Hilton, go to BellaMom (check out their website for the map by clicking on Izmir) for jeans & jeans skirts, kaki skirts, t-shirts, cardigans and both funky and plain tops & t-shirts. The owners speak English, are friendly and helpful.
I especially liked their t-shirts with removable velcro months, as well as those stating "Coming soon", "Got Milk" or "it all started with a kiss".
Again not cheap but probably worth it if you're looking for a basic like a classical skirt or jeans that you'll be able to wear through your pregnancy.
Anyway, sometimes you just want to indulge yourself - pregnant or not! Plus if you're pregnant, soon you'll be focusing on baby clothes so enjoy shopping for yourself now.


BABIES & TODDLERS:

Turning off Musatafa Bey Caddesi (walking with your back to the sea, towards "Bonjour Café", just before you hit Hamile Giyim, turn left). Walking down the street, you'll find Chicco on your right. Here they sell all sorts of prams, chairs and travel cots as well as baby & toddler clothes, milk expressing machines & sterilizers and a few other accessories.


Finally, Next (in Bornova Forum) also has lovely baby and toddler clothes with sizes for small, medium and large newborns.

That's about all for now, but should I make a revolutionnary discovery I'll update this post.
As always, please don't hesitate to write in should you have questions or information of your own to share.

Bostanli Market - Karsiyaka

A little while ago, on a Wednesday, a newfound friend wanted to show me "the best market in Izmir". It's in an area called Bostanli in "Karsiyaka" (literally "the other side"). Karsiyaka, where she lives, is on the other side of the Izmir Gulf from where I live, so we were going to meet there. Dreading the nightmare traffic & driving I decided to try the car ferry instead.

It is absolutely brilliant! Perhaps it's not quite as good as being on the Bosphorous in Istanbul, but you still get the breeze, the seagulls surfing on the wind, that incredible smell the sea has... Only 30 minutes, but it was like a holiday! Being on the water takes you away from the bustle and includes a Simit and Turkish tea served on board - so it definitely beats the traffic! Plus it was a really great introduction to the feast of smells, tastes and sights the market offered.


The market is a typical open-air-cater-for-all-tastes/sizes/needs-market like the ones you find in many east European countries, with colorful stalls and noisy negotiating going on everywhere. A never-ending array of stalls, selling fruit, veggies, cheeses, olives, nuts, sheets, belts, sunglasses, underwear, and all sorts of leather goods. Pointing at my camera, trying to make sure they didn't mind being photographed, (some people/cultures believe you steal their soul by taking their picture), I soon found myself encircled by stall owners trying to grab my attention yelling "Check! Check!" Puzzled, I looked to M, my Turkish friend, for assistance. "It's ok, "çekim" means "to take" -they don't mind".

Well that's an understatement! The love being photographed! Many of them would lead me to their stall and strike a pose with their produce. Some even wanted to have a look at my camera to see how they looked or would take a different pose if they sold a variety of goods. So, the pics are not that spontaneous, but there you go! As it turns out , being photographed, completely distracted them from selling me their goods, so I was able to stroll through the market buying only what I needed without being coerced into buying all sorts of stuff /quantities I didn't want in the first place. There's a tip, in Izmir, when in a market or bazaar, shop with your camera!

Seriously, though, the Bostanli market in Karsiyaka (every Wednesday) is definitely worth going to!
Note: The ferry car crossing costs 7.50 YTL one-way (price correct on 04/05/2009)

Where to live in Izmir - Part One: Karsiyaka

Today's post, the first of our "Where to live in Izmir?" series, courtesy of Meryem. Click on any of the photos to enlarge. Note by: Izmir Blogger

My name is Meryem and I live in the area "Karsiyaka" of Izmir. Karsiyaka literally means "On the other side" and it is, from the city center of Alsancak and Konak. A road connects the parts, but on a regular basis a passenger ferry crosses the bay. There is also ferry for the cars to Bostanli boat terminal. Opposite the boat terminal (in Turkish: Iskele) of Karsiyaka you can find the busy centre with many shops and restaurants. If you continue to walk along the seaside, you have apartments with the following view from the balcony (see photo top left). The apartments with sea view are quite nice, some bigger than others. Some buildings look very nice on the outside, and you can take it from me, that those are maintained well and are nice from the inside as well.

When you pass the statue of dolphins and small basin with water, you are in the middle of Karsiyaka and Bostanli. Opposite of the "Bostanli Iskele" (a very busy place as cars also leave form here to the other side) the area of Bostanli starts. The liveliness stems from the many shops and restaurants and some nice cafes.

On Wednesdays, there is huge market where they sell fruit, vegetables, cheese, nuts, clothes and shoes!
The area furthest to the left, Mavisehir, is relatively the newest area and very popular among richer Turkish families. It is a matter of taste if you like these high 32 store buildings, although the colored villas are quite large and have a garden as well. (see picture of pink colored house) EGE Park is the shopping area, with many luxurious shops, a bowling centre and cinema.

So this was in short a tour through "the other side" of Izmir. I have been living here for 4 years now and I like it very much! All the shops you can find are here, there is enough parking space, the parks along the seaside are green, and go on for a few kilometers, it is easily reachable by the ferry from Alsançak... The only thing is, there aren't a lot of houses with gardens to be found, only the colored villas in Mavisehir... So if you don't mind living in an apartment, than Karsiyaka is absolutely worth checking out!

More pictures of Bostanli market