The International Women’s Association of Izmir offers friendship to women from all walks of life and provides useful information to make living as a foreigner in Turkey a fuller experience

The International Women’s Association of Izmir was officially established in 2005 as a non-profit association that connects foreign women who have made the Aegean city of Izmir their home. Currently IWAI has over a 100 women from different countries and cultural backgrounds.

Among the women interviewed by the Turkish Daily News, Carmen Caruana, a Maltese citizen said she came from Malta last September. She and her husband were involved in education counselling in Malta. As the headquarters of their company was in Izmir, they came to Izmir for business and decided to settle in the city. Carmen said: “I was feeling really lonely. I found this group through an interview I read in the paper. But there were no telephone numbers, no contact information... Then I tried to find a contact number on the Internet. I was determined to find them. For the first time, thanks to this group, I felt at home.”