Culture & Memory
Discover Bornova's historical, cultural and natural heritage.
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...
BridgeIşıklar
The bridge is located at coordinates 38°25'27.65"N 27°14'0.20"E in Izmir – Bornova; Isikkent, Isiklar neighborhood, over Arap Deresi (Arab Creek). It is a main-arched bridge with slight slopes in both directions, featuring a total of two arches. The larger and higher opening, the main arch, indicates the main flow direction of the riverbed when the bridge was first constructed. A secondary arch supports flood water drainage...
SquareKazımdirik
Located in the center of Bornova, Abide-i Hurriyet Square is a place of memory that keeps alive Turkey's struggle for freedom through its monument dedicated to the martyrs of the March 31 Uprising, its historical figures, and cultural symbols. Bornova's Abide-i Hurriyet Square was inaugurated on April 27, 2025, on a 2,700-square-meter area between Sanayi and Universite Avenues, right next to Yasar University...
