Welcome to Izmir Blog FAQ

Please note the FAQ are related to Izmir Blog, not to Izmir city! Not what you're looking for? Go back to IZMIR BLOG's main page.

Just as a first, be patient 'cause I'm new to this! -as well as being new to the city, the country and the language ;-) I'll be adding things as they come in/happen... so check in soon!

If you have a question about Izmir, contact us we'll do our best to help.

If you have a tip about housing, hairdressers, doctors, eating out, shopping, markets, fitness, administration, you name it!
or

If you're interested in joining the editorial team of Izmir Blog

e-mail us or post a comment

N.B. The date at the top of this post is fake to keep it at the top.

What are "Turkey in the Blogosphere/in the News"?

"Turkey in the Blogosphere" and "Turkey in the News" are blog clips;

The first is a roll of links to latest posts published on Turkey or by bloggers living in Turkey: The second a roll of links to web based news articles mentioning Turkey:


The link rolls have been set up using Google Reader.

We've placed these on Izmir Blog to give you an idea of what other Turkish based blogs are saying and what's going on in Turkey, in the news.

Happy reading!

Your feedback

We wanted to share some of the feedback we've received. Please note, last names and/or e-mail addresses have been blurred so as to protect privacy.

We'll be adding to these - hopefully - so check back soon.

Thank-you for the encouraging and kind words, people! Always good to read!

To read the e-mails, just click on the pics to enlarge them.

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Check out Idil's blog at Ignore me if you can

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The above was copy/pasted from Turkey is typing posted July 22nd 2006 by Deborah Ann Dilley who writes for Global Voices Online on Turkey

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Links & Colors

At Izmir Blog we like colors! If it's orange or blue then you can click on it and it will take you places!

The links on this site are orange -except third party links like the expatblog icon, the Turkey in the news/ in the blogosphere feeds, and the flickr.com icon).

How to recognize a link?
Links in the text, titles or icons should change color slightly when you hover over them, or change the apperance of your mouse pointer.

How can I find the URL of a link?
To see the URL (or address) of a particular link, just scroll over it (place your mouse over the colored text or image) and read the URL in the bottom left corner of your browser window. Alternatively you can right click (Ctrl-click on Apple) on the link for more options.

How to post a comment?

At the bottom of each post, or article, you will see three links (in orange). To read comments, or leave a comment of your own, click on "COMMENTS".

Clicking on "Comments" will open a pop-up window, with a space for you to type your comment.

Then tick "Other" or "Anonymous" (unless you are a Blogger) and insert the name of your choice (in the example below "Jo") Please note, all fields are optional.

If you scroll down a bit you will see that you are asked to type in some funny looking characters. This is to make sure the comment is generated by a person and not a computer. Type in the letters as you see them.

By pressing "Publish" or "Preview" you can chose to preview your comment (to see what it will actually look like, or edit it if need be) or publish it.

That's it! Your comment will appear below the other comments related to the same post like this:

Congratulations! You did it!

Update (18.09.2006) After having been informed that some of you had been trying to post comments but were unable to (Groan), we've changed the settings so that the "comments section" no longer opens as a pop-up window...and you CAN COMMENT once again.
Thanks to those who pointed this out!
Happy commenting, people, and thanks for visiting.

What is this Blog about?

If you're new to Izmir, or planning to move here, you probably have tons of questions. It's not easy to find the information you are looking for on the web especially since it's mostly targeted at tourists and scattered all over the place. Plus, it might be in Turkish.
Izmir Blog's mission is to provide answers to questions you may have, by capturing and organizing information so it's easy to find.

How did Izmir Blog get started?

Prior to moving to Izmir, I did some googling, and didn't find much. And what I did find was in Turkish, which I do not understand.

When we actually moved here, we found that on top of the language barrier and notwithstanding the wonderful Turkish hospitality, Izmir is not really geared to welcoming foreigners, as a capital city would be for instance. This makes it more difficult to integrate at first.

Also, Mymerhaba "a community portal to make you feel at home in Turkey" does wonders for Istanbul and Ankara, but is not very helpful for Izmir.

Finally, although there are various web-connected groups of expats in Izmir, you have to know they exist to find them. The advantage of a Blog is that it is just as interactive as a forum with the added features of photos, links, and accessibility.

So there you go. Basically, I'm trying to find my way here and I thought it might as well be useful to others!

What is the best way to share information?

If you want to comment, react or add something, to an existing post, you can leave a comment at the bottom of any of the posts. Just click on "comments".
By the way, you DON'T have to use your real name; you can INVENT ONE (recommended) or post under "Anonymous" (we like these less).

If you want to send in an article, a link, tip or pictures, you can e-mail us using the link at the top of the home page.

Where do you get your info?

Sources vary:
-information is sent in by/gathered from people who have been around here for a while and have shared their experience, tips, contacts, etc.
-links to existing websites/pages somehow relating to Izmir or life in Turkey
-personal experience

Ultimately, Izmir Blog relies on your contributions. So, go on, share your experience or send in your questions, we'll do our best to help!

N.B. Izmir Blog's editorial team does not verify every tip, and cannot be held accountable for the occasional (we hope) misleading information.

What are the del.icio.us tags in your sidebar?

Del.icio.us is a collection of favorites, and functions like a bookmark menu that is external to your computer. When you tag (or bookmark) your favorites on de.icio.us, you can access them from any computer; at home, at the office or on your sister's computer when visiting her in Canada. You can also share your favorite bookmarks with others.

"del.icio.us tags" on Izmir Blog is a compilation of links (using tag words to access them) to Izmir-related sites.
A tag will take you to a list of links it is attached to. Similarly, each link has a few tags. For example, if you click "Association", you may find a link to a IWAI, that you could also reach if you had clicked on "International" or "Expat". It sounds confusing if you've never used del.icio.us - but give it a go, and you'll see it's pretty easy.

For more on del.icio.us, go to the Del.icio.us website

Can I send you a link to add to your del.icio.us tags?

Please do. We up-date the del.icio.us tags as we find new sites/information. If your site is related to Izmir or life in Turkey, and can be useful to people, we will add it under the appropriate tag(s).

Where are the del.icio.tags?

You'll find them on the main page of Izmir Blog on the right, in the sidebar, where it says del.icio.us. tags

Find out more about del.cio.us

What is the Wall of Fame?

The Wall of Fame is a way to thank those who have taken the time to send in a comment, a tip, a link, or have somehow contributed to Izmir Blog.

If you haven't yet had your 15 minutes of fame on this earth, send us a tip and we will post your name on the Wall of Fame...

Of course, we wouldn't want to blow your cover! So if you do not want to be mentioned, let us know! Or just tell us what you would like to be referenced as, and we'll post it (you can use your real name or make up a funky name of your choice, same as when you post a comment).

If you want to send in an article, a link, tip or pictures, you can e-mail us using the link at the top of the home page.

Welcome!

Just as a first, be patient 'cause I'm new to this! -as well as being new to the city, the country and the language ;-)

I'll be adding things as they come in/happen... and I'll be revizing the look of this blog.

Wouldn't it be great if the editorial team of Izmir Blog, were actually a team?! Interested? send an e-mail or simply post a note!