What's on in Izmir (Cesme), Turkey through the year

Busy — Semester (winter) break in Turkey, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Busy — Semester (winter) break in Turkey, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — Second-term mid-break in Turkey, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  International Izmir Festival

  4 Jun – 8 JulMajor festival

  Five weeks of concerts that move between the Agora, the Celsus library at Ephesus and Cesme castle. The ancient venues sell out first and the drive back from Selcuk is the catch. Source ↗

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  10 Jun – 20 Oct · usually

  Nobody swims in the gulf itself; the season is measured by the peninsula, Cesme and Urla, forty minutes west. It stays swimmable well into October once the crowds have gone.

• Hazard

  Wildfire season

  15 Jun – 30 Sep · usuallySmoke season

  Izmir province burns nearly every summer, usually in the pine hills between the city and the peninsula. The city itself is rarely threatened; the coast road and the smoke are what change plans. Source ↗

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: International Izmir Festival (4 Jun – 8 Jul), Sea warm enough to swim (10 Jun – 20 Oct (usually)), Wildfire season (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  The city moves to the coast

  1–31 AugSchool holidays

  Izmir empties westward in August: half the good restaurants in Alsancak shut for the month while Cesme and Alacati charge triple. The city is at its most liveable and least interesting.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (10 Jun – 20 Oct (usually)), Wildfire season (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Izmir International Fair, Summer holidays in Turkey

• Festival

  Izmir International Fair

  5–13 SepMajor festivalCrowded

  Ninety-five editions of a trade fair that turned into a city festival, held in the Kulturpark. It brackets 9 September, the day Izmir marks its liberation with a half marathon and fireworks. Source ↗

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (10 Jun – 20 Oct (usually)), Wildfire season (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (10 Jun – 20 Oct (usually))

Busy — First-term mid-break in Turkey

• Season

  Aegean olive harvest

  1 Nov – 20 Dec · usually

  The groves around Urla and Seferihisar are picked and pressed through November, and the new oil turns up green and peppery in the markets. It is the one reason to be here out of season.

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Aegean olive harvest (1 Nov – 20 Dec (usually))