Guide
Bornova is today a district of İzmir shaped by its university: a large campus, halls of residence, cafés and restaurants that serve students, and a young population that is the first thing a visitor notices.
Its older layer is the Levantine one. Merchants living in İzmir in the late 1700s and through the 1800s built mansions here, and several survive as good examples of civil architecture — the Peterson Mansion of 1859, the Murat Mansion known locally as the Haunted Mansion, and the Aliotti House, built in the 1820s by the Florentine Aliotti family.
The Homeros Valley recreation area, named after the ancient poet, was opened more recently as a place to spend time outdoors: two large ponds, a picnic area and a walking path.
Bornova is easy to reach from anywhere in İzmir by public transport, which makes it a half-day trip rather than an expedition.
