Varyant is the more widely known name for the United Nations Avenue ( tr, Birleşmiş Milletler Caddesi), an avenue in

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

that is well known for its winding route and vista of the city. The road connects Halil Rıfat Paşa Avenue in central Konak to İnönü Avenue in

Eşrefpaşa Eşrefpaşa is a popular and rooted neighborhood of İzmir within the metropolitan district of Konak. It does not have an official status and delimitation and exists rather as a notion. Eşrefpaşa encompasses up to twenty officially constituted an ...

. The avenue was originally built as a two-way street, but the northern half was converted to a one way street, when Halil Rıfat Paşa Avenue was extended down to Bahribaba in Konak. Traffic heading up the hill use Varyant, while traffic heading down use Halil Rıfat Paşa Avenue. At the midpoint of the route, United Nations Avenue becomes a two-way street until its southern end at İnönü Avenue.

Overview

Construction of Varyant began on 1 December 1950. The route was originally built on several viaducts to help traverse the steep terrain. The land under these viaducts have since been filled up, leaving only the concrete barriers in place. A section of one viaduct, at the intersection with Halil Rıfat Paşa Avenue, can still be seen from Konak. The road was originally named ''Vali Rahmi Bey Avenue'' but was soon changed to ''United Nations Avenue'', in honor of the newly formed world organization. The section of road to Halil Rıfat Paşa Avenue was opened on 25 March 1952. The section of road to İnönü Avenue was opened within the next year or two; the exact date is not clear. The route was built with a 7° incline, a total width of and consists of six sharp curves. The total length of United Nations Avenue is and the difference in elevation is . The route begins in central Konak, splitting off from Halil Rıfat Paşa Avenue, near the western portal of the

Konak Tunnel Konak Tunnel ( tr, Konak Tüneli) is a road tunnel in Konak district of in İzmir, Turkey. It was opened to traffic in 2015. The tunnel is situated in Konak, İzmir connecting the Mustafa Kemal Coastal Boulevard in Konak with Yeşildere Street ...

. This section is of the route is for southbound (uphill) traffic only, as Halil Rıfat Paşa Avenue runs parallel for northbound (downhill) traffic. United Nations Avenue winds around the İzmir Ethnography Museum until reaching its halfway point on the last visible viaduct at a height of above sea-level. Halil Rıfat Paşa Avenue intersects with United Nations Avenue and continues west to Halil Rıfat Paşa. South of the intersection, Varyant becomes a two-way avenue and continues south to İnönü Avenue. The route winds around two more sharp curves until reaching İnönü Avenue at the Bayramyeri intersection.

ESHOT Elektrik Su Havagazı Otobüs Troleybüs ( en, Electricity, Water, Coal Gas, Bus, Trolleybus) or ESHOT is a bus service operating in the İzmir. ESHOT, along with İZULAŞ are the two main bus transit service in İzmir. Buses serve all districts, ...

city buses use Varyant for bus routes from Konak to

Buca Buca (, ) is a district of İzmir Province, Turkey. It is one of the main urban districts of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. History Buca was one of the preferred settlement areas of İzmir's community of Levantines. The great mansions they bui ...

and

Karabağlar Karabağlar is a district of İzmir Province of Turkey. It is one of the metropolitan districts of İzmir. Karabağlar was turned into a district by the Cabinet of Turkey The Cabinet of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Kabinesi) or Presidential Cabine ...

Articulated buses An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usua ...

are too big for the sharp curves, thus mainly

midibus A midibus is a classification of single-decker minibuses which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between and long. While used in many parts of the world, the mi ...

es and some

single-deck bus A single-decker bus or single-decker is a bus that has a single deck for passengers. Normally the use of the term ''single-decker'' refers to a standard two-axled rigid bus, in direct contrast to the use of the term double-decker bus, which i ...

es run along United Nations Avenue.

References

{{İzmir Konak District Streets in İzmir