İzmir in Türkiye is a paradise for cyclists and food lovers

In this episode, Euronews’ Cinzia Rizzi takes a bike tour in the Aegean region. The stunning city of İzmir is a great place to visit by bike, as it’s a key point on the Turkish leg of the EuroVelo 8 – a 7,350 km cycle route through 10 Mediterranean countries. The 495km İzmir section starts in Pergamum and takes you through 18 districts, with historical sites, as locations with cultural and natural heritage along the way to the final destination of Ephesus.

İzmir is also well known for its cuisine and Cinzia takes a masterclass to learn how to prepare one of the traditional local pastries: boyoz. This round flaky pastry is made of thin layers of dough and three simple ingredients: flour, water, and salt. But making it is not as simple as it sounds, as you can see in the video above.

Cinzia also visits Ephesus – this ancient city became influential under the Roman Empire as the capital of Asia Minor, second in importance only to Rome itself. Added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 2015, it’s a unique place where you’ll find the Library of Celsus – an architectural marvel. There are also the remains of the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” that is widely considered to have started European marble architecture.