Culture & Memory
Discover Bornova's historical, cultural and natural heritage.
Religious BuildingErgene
The structure is located on 538th Street in Bornova's Ergene neighborhood. The mosque is situated within Bornova's Grand Bazaar. Also known as the Grand Mosque, Bornova Great Mosque, Bazaar Mosque, or Cami-i Kebir, the structure sits within a courtyard. Entry is through the narthex on the north facade. Built on a rectangular plan, based on the dome before the mihrab, it features five aisles in the longitudinal direction [...]
BustErzene
Homeros, an indispensable figure of Western literature, is a figure who, despite being Anatolian, has become universal rather than local. The Iliad and the Odyssey, the epics he compiled, are considered the starting point of Western culture.
Nature ReserveEğridere
A Silent Witness of Nature. In Egridere Village, nestled in the deep green of the Homeros Valley east of Bornova, a natural monument that defies time rises: the Egridere Monumental Tree. This massive tree, a Valonia Oak (Quercus ithaburensis), is a unique heritage that has witnessed Bornova's history, nature, and cultural fabric for approximately 400–500 years. In 2002, it was registered as a protected natural asset...
MansionErzene
The earliest known history of Edward Whittall Mansion dates to 1816–1819, when the Duke of Rovigo, one of Napoleon's generals, stayed at this residence in Bornova. Edward Whittall Period (1875–1917): Born in 1851, Edward Whittall was one of Bornova's most renowned Levantines. After spending his childhood in the gardens of Charlton Whittall Mansion, he settled in this mansion in 1875 and quickly transformed it into a European-style...
MansionErzene
Located on 2nd and 3rd Streets in Erzene neighborhood, Dramalilar Mansion is dated to the late 18th–early 19th century, though its exact construction year is unknown. It is a complex consisting of a main building, a bathhouse, outbuildings, a stable, and entrance structures. The southwest facade opens to the front courtyard, while the northeast facade opens to the rear courtyard. Before 1922, the mansion belonged to a Greek family living in Bornova [...]
Religious BuildingDoğanlar
Bornova Doganlar Chapel is a small-scale example of sacred architecture reflecting the worship practices of the Greek Orthodox community at the rural/urban interface in 19th-century Izmir. Within Izmir's cosmopolitan 19th-century fabric, Greek Orthodox places of worship are spatial projections of both liturgical requirements and interactions with the local/Levantine environment.
MansionErzene
Charnaud Mansion is one of the oldest Levantine residences in Bornova. The "1831" inscription on the black-and-white pebble mosaic in its garden confirms the mansion's construction date. The property initially belonged to the Zipcy Family, then passed to the Charnaud Family in 1919, and subsequently to the Clark Family. Throughout the 20th century, the mansion hosted various Levantine and Turkish families and served as part of Bornova's social memory...
MansionErzene
The site where Charlton Whittall Mansion stands was a monastery built for Dutch nuns in the early 18th century. Later, a single-story residence was built by a Dutch immigrant. James Whittall, one of the famous Levantine families who settled in Izmir in 1817, purchased this house in the 1820s. After his death, the property passed to his brother Charlton Whittall. As the family expanded and renovated the structure, the mansion became one of Bornova's...
Train StationKazımdirik
Edward Price, representative of The Smyrna Cassaba Railway Company, which had been authorized with a concession to build the planned railway line between Izmir and Turgutlu, had requested a separate concession for the construction of a new railway line from Izmir to Birunabad (Bornova). The purpose was to serve the Levantines living in Bornova and their...
MansionKazımdirik
Belhomme Mansion — originally known as Xenopoulou Mansion — was built in the 1880s by the English-origin Wolf Brothers. One of the mansion's first known owners was Greek-Catholic merchant Pierre Xenoupoulo, followed by the Belhomme Family. The family's last Levantine representative, Helen Armand, was among the mansion's residents in the mid-20th century. In the 1950s, ownership passed to a Turkish family, and in the 1960s the mansion was nationalized...
MansionErzene
Known today as the "Green Mansion" (Yesil Kosk), Bardisbanian Mansion is estimated to have been built by D.A. Bardisbanian, an Izmir-based merchant engaged in import and export trade in the last quarter of the 19th century. The mansion, situated directly across from the Bornova train station and at the edge of fertile agricultural lands opening onto the Bornova Plain, represents a distinctive example of Levantine settlement culture...
MansionKavaklıdere
Belkahve, one of the strategic passes east of Izmir, holds a special place in Turkish history as the point where Mustafa Kemal Ataturk first gazed upon Izmir on September 9, 1922. Bornova Municipality opened the Belkahve Ata Memorial House Visitor Center on September 9, 2016, to keep this significance alive. The center offers visitors both the spirit of the War of Independence and the symbolic moment of Izmir's liberation...
