Historic Buildings
Discover Bornova's past through its architectural heritage spanning from mansions to public buildings, mosques and churches.
Established within a massive 520 m2 nomadic tent structure at the Sabuncubeli locality below Karacam Village, the center exhibits thousands of objects related to Yoruk Turkmen culture. Operating under the Izmir Yoruk Turkmen Federation, the center is open for free visits every day of the week.
Located on Fevzi Cakmak Avenue, the Ege University Ethnography Museum houses a rich collection of Anatolian and Rumelian regional costumes as well as musical instruments from the Turkic world. The museum is notable for its artifacts reflecting cultural diversity.
Opened in 2021, the Izmir Literature Museum Library offers a special collection featuring works and objects of Izmir-born authors, along with facsimile editions of manuscripts. Among the prominent exhibits are the first edition of Ataturk's Geometry book, a signed book by Halit Ziya, and Attila Ilhan's beret.
The second largest natural history museum established in Turkey, the Ege University Natural History Museum is also the country's first academic museum housed in a university building. Located on the Ege University Faculty of Science campus, it features a rich collection of fossils and rocks spanning 4.5 billion years of Earth's history. There is a symbolic admission fee.
The Ege University Paper and Book Arts Museum presents the 2,000-year journey of the book through examples from different cultures. Displaying the world's smallest book and thinnest paper, the museum is one of the three major paper and book arts museums in the world.
The mansion on 80th Street was built between 1854 and 1856. Ownership of the house successively passed to the Douglas Paterson, Edwin Charnaud, De Zandonati, James Gout, and Victor Whittall families. Restored by its last owner Lucien Arkas, the house currently operates as the Arkas Maritime History Center, housing a very rich collection of maritime history artifacts.
BAYETAV Art, opened at the Fernand Pagy House on May 6, 2023, hosts art and cultural events on its ground floor, while the upper floor brings Izmir's 300-400 year-old Levantine culture to the present through furniture, household items, and digital narratives of Levantine life. Admission is free.
A city museum exhibiting the history and cultural heritage of Bornova.
