Urla Guide: The Urla Wine Route, Art Street and Ancient Klazomenai

Halfway between central Izmir and Alaçatı (just 35 kilometres west of Konak), the coastal hills, red limestone soils and pine-forested valleys of Urla have become the gastronomic capital of the Turkish Aegean. Here, 2,600-year-old Ionian wine and olive-oil traditions have been revived by a new generation of winemakers and Michelin-starred farm-to-table chefs.

1. The Urla Wine Route (Urla Bağ Yolu)

Ancient amphorae stamped from Urla's port of Klazomenai carried wine across the Black Sea and Mediterranean in the 6th century BC. Over the past two decades, local estates planted vineyards across the sun-soaked hills between Kuşçular,ovacık and Yağcılar, creating the signposted Urla Wine Route. Alongside international varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Nero d'Avola and Sangiovese), the estates rescued three rare local Aegean grapes from near-extinction: aromatic floral white Bornova Misketi, structured red Urla Karası, and ancient red Foça Karası (plus pale pink Çalkarası rosé):

• Key Estates to Visit for Tastings: architecturalgravity-flow cellars at Urla Şarapçılık (surrounded by terraced vineyards and centuries-old olive trees in Kuşçular), organic family estate USCA, red-brick château-style Urlice Vineyards (with wood-fired pizza in the garden), MMG, Mozaik and Çakır. Most wineries welcome daytime tasting visitors; call or message a day ahead to book a cellar tour and tasting flight.
• Farm-to-Table Dining: Urla holds some of Turkey's most celebrated destination restaurants (including Od Urla, Teruar Urla, Vino Locale and Hiç Lokanta), cooking over open wood fires with estate olive oil and foraged herbs; book dinner tables weeks in advance.

2. Urla Art Street (Sanat Sokağı), Malgaca Market and İskele

In the historic town centre of Urla, stroll down pedestrianised Urla Sanat Sokağı (Zafer Caddesi), where restored 19th-century stone shops house ceramicists, sourdough bakeries, antique cafés and woodworkers, opening onto the shaded square of historic Malgaca Pazarı (Arasta). Pause here to try Urla's signature flaky pastry, katmer, flipped on a convex iron griddle and filled with minced meat or goat's curd cheese. Then head four kilometres north to the waterfront at Urla İskele (Liman):

• Klazomenai Olive Oil Workshop (6th Century BC): right beside the harbour lies the archaeological site and working reconstruction of ancient Ionian Klazomenai, housing the oldest surviving large-scale olive-oil pressing workshop in the Mediterranean (complete with rock-cutlever presses and three-chamber separation vats), opposite Quarantine Island (Karantina Adası) and the childhood seaside house of Greek Nobel laureate poet Giorgos Seferis.