Bornova
Encyclopedia
Bornova is a metropolitan district of İzmir
in İzmir Province
in Turkey
. It is the third largest district in İzmir's Greater Metropolitan Area of and is almost fully urbanized at the rate of 98,6 per cent, with corresponding high levels of development in terms of industry and services. Bornova center is situated at a distance of 8 km (5 mi) to the northeast from the traditional center of İzmir (Konak Square
in Konak, İzmir) and 5 km (3 mi) from the coastline at the tip of the Gulf of İzmir
to the west. Bornova district area is surrounded by the district areas of Manisa
center and Menemen
to the north, Kemalpaşa
to the east, Buca
to the south, and Konak and Karşıyaka
to the west, where the larger part of İzmir's urban area extends. Bornova is home to Ege University
's main campus and for many at national level in Turkey Bornova's name is synonymous with the university's hospital, one of the largest and the foremost medical centers in western Turkey since decades.
During the Ottoman
period, Bornova was called "Birunabad", often rendered as "Bournabad" or "Bournabat" in Western sources, although explanations as to how that name was composed vary. A number of sources seek the explanation in the Persian
and Ottoman Turkish
term birun, which means "outer, exterior", abad being a suffix common to a number of cities across the Islamic world and which forms a place name when attached to the name of a person or to a proper name
, such as Haydarabad or Islamabad
. Although befitting a settlement slightly outside a greater metropolitan zone, that the name "Birunabad" is based on an adjective
in Bornova's case, makes an association with an earlier Byzantine
name more likely. In fact, under the Byzantine and Nicean Empires the region was called "Prinobaris" and was notable for being a source of considerable revenues for the Haghia Sophia from its attached properties here, and was for this reason alternatively known as "Hagiosophitike chora". As such, Birunabad, Bournabat and now Bornova could be converted forms of this name.
The recent discovery, within the boundaries of Bornova district, of Yeşilova Höyük
, on which the fieldwork continues, seems to indicate that Bornova's alluvial plain, fed by several small streams, was the site of the very first settlement by the Neolithic
-Calcolithic inhabitants of the region across present-day İzmir's metropolitan area.
, was the mayor of Bornova before taking over his present office for the city as a whole.
The urban area is divided into 36 officially constituted and delimited neighborhoods. Several unofficial denominations for neighborhoods are also in common use across İzmir and beyond to describe localities often with determined centers but vague boundaries, such as Altındağ.
Twelve small villages, mostly located in the forested uplands around Mount Yamanlar and with a cumulative population of 6,354 -as against the district total of 464,694-, depend Bornova prefecture. According to the estimates made by the Izmir Chamber of Commerce, commuters and other people visiting Bornova on a daily basis could account for an additional 300,000 to be cumulated with the district population.
With a total bed capacity of only 400 across the district, most of which is accounted by the suburb's single large hotel, the accommodation facilities are rather limited inside Bornova, and the hotels in İzmir's center is generally preferred for a night's stay.
Despite that, visitors on a leisure tour are a common sight in Bornova's streets due to the town's historical center having been much in favor in the 19th century among İzmir's European and Levant
ine residents who left very visible architectural traces, in the form especially of the Levantine mansions of İzmir
.
Indeed, Bornova used to be a summer residence for many foreign consuls and wealthy businessmen fleeing the stagnantly hot weather in central İzmir
to seek the cooler breeze of the slopes of Mount Yamanlar, the departure point of Bornova in its beginnings. This move by diplomats and the rich was at the very origin of the town's growth in the beginning of the 19th century, until which time Bornova used to be a small forestry village, recorded in Ottoman
times principally in connection with the task of guarding the mountain passes leading to İzmir which was assigned to its inhabitants in exchange of certain tax reliefs. Moves to Bornova during summer for a month or two had entered among the habits of İzmir's European/Levantine inhabitants since the preceding century, but while their rich increasingly opted to live here on a permanent basis, the city's Europeans/Levantines with more modest social conditions seem to have ceased to come to Bornova, even for the summer, by the 1820s. The mansions and residences built in the 19th century, most of which reached our day, restored and in public or private use, are usually still called under the prestigious names of the former owners, such as Whittall, Maltass, Paterson, Giraud, Edwards, Belhomme, Pandespanian. There is a small Catholic Church named the "Church of Santa Maria" in the main square of Bornova and an Anglican chapel and cemetery nearby,both dating from the 19th century, landmarks of Bornova's cosmopolitan past. Despite the obvious luxurious style of the residences they built, these new inhabitants did not always have lives in all comfort. The soar observed in the course of the 19th century in a particular form of brigandage, sometimes interpreted as a form of social resistance and usually associated with efe tradition and with the coastal strait along the Aegean Sea as well as its valleys reaching inland, often had Bornova as its frontier land. A number of notorious cases of kidnapping involving brigands and the owners of these residences and high demands of ransom occurred on a frequent basis for almost a hundred years.
Bornova also made sports history in Turkey when the first football match ever held in the Ottoman Empire
was played in Bornova in 1890 between British
sailors on shore leave
against young men of İzmir. Turkey's first athletic contest was also held in Bornova in 1895.
orchards, as well as the famed okra
(gumbo
) gardens synonymous with the town's name (Bornova bamyası), which had a secure place among the dozen cultivars, traditional and commercial, of Turkey, were for the most part replaced by apartment blocks and the notoriety of Bornova's okras are now taken over by those of Urla. The urban growth occurred the direction both of the seashore and to the east towards Kemalpaşa
, as well as to the south in Altındağ zone and İzmir-Aydın
motorway.
The population's growth rate reached as high as 30-35 per cent in certain years. New neighborhoods consisting of block apartments were built rapidly and some of these neighborhoods carry the names of the real estate developers who had initiated the construction boom, such as Özkanlar and Çamkıran. Bornova could nevertheless preserve its orderly outlook, with privately -and legally- built constructions and social housing projects keeping at pace with the increase in population, and very few slum
-type residences, of which many boomtown
s across Turkey are still scourged with. Bornova district counts 147,037 residential buildings.
On the other hand, a number of tragedies occurred in recent past due to delays in improvements along the river beds of the four streams that cross Bornova to join the Gulf of İzmir (Bornova, Laka, Manda and Şeytanderesi brooks), while residences were mushrooming around these. Furthermore, two cement mill
s which were constructed and stone quarries which were opened in what was empty fields decades ago are now located next to residences, and the pollution caused by the former establishments is an ongoing issue of concern.
Bornova center is served by a railway connection since 1867, initially by a branch line
of İzmir-Kasaba (Turgutlu
) railway completed during the same decade.
Bornova is currently the eastern terminus of İzmir's subway rapid transit
line whose extension continues, and access to and from the city center, as well as between various localities of İzmir is relatively easy with either public or private transports.
Since İzmir's central bus terminal
, the huge İZOTAŞ in Altındağ quarter where an estimated fifty thousand people arrive or depart each day, as well as the road junctions connecting İzmir and the regions to its south, to İstanbul
, Ankara
and the rest of Turkey, are located within the boundaries of Bornova, intercity connections are made relatively easy.
Bornova counts 80 primary schools and 102 kindergartens. At secondary-level education, there are 19 high schools and 22 professional schools. The figures for the student and teacher's corps are shown in the table. The average student per teacher ratio obtained (22,1%), with primary education the most congested at 25,5%, correspond to rather comfortable levels compared to many cases across Turkey.
Higher-level educational institutions are assembled under the very large structure of Ege University, which brings together 11 faculties, 7 institutes, 6 higher education centers and 7 higher professional schools and 25 research centers. The university had 42,693 students and 2,895 academic staff in 2007. Its campus is also an important center of culture, sports, leisure and entertainment for all across İzmir.
In adult education
, the state-managed Public Training Center and Professional Training Centers offer courses in various practical fields with a total of 100 trainers, and 12,356 people including participants in literacy
courses received courses in these establishments in 2006. Illiteracy is an issue almost exclusively restricted to new migrants into Bornova, and especially to women among these. There are also a number of private initiatives in the same field, such as the 29 companies offering drivers license courses, although the necessity of extending such services further and deeper is a common concerrn frequently expressed at all levels.
The total of district's commercial enterprises numbering 28,016, the figure reached by cumulating the total production, retail, wholesale units and connected offices neighbors around forty five thousand, which results in the picture of a very active district.
855 Bornova companies are registered exporters and a total amount of 596,224,735 US Dollars could be estimated for 2006 as exports which were made by Bornova district companies. 83 companies with foreign capital participation operate in Bornova and the recorded amount of foreign direct investment
s between 1997-2007 was 71,928,267 US Dollars. Among instantly recognizable international names which operate with sizable Bornova bases, BMC
, Tuborg, Efes Pilsen, CMS
tyres can be cited. The textile and clothing wholesalers are concentrated in MTK industrial and marketing zone, built specially for these industries.
Bornova's vast plain has been a preferred location since more than a century for İzmir's industrial base. The choice of Bornova by numerous official institutions as their regional headquarters, combined with the services industry, with medical and legal services especially standing out, as well as other professions, all contribute to the pace of the district. Agricultural production is comparatively very modest in added value.
store, a Tesco Kipa superstore, seven movie theaters, and other leisure and entertainment facilities. Bornova's other shopping mall, Park Bornova, was, at 33,000 square meters, İzmir's largest at the time of its opening and the first to fit the description of a modern shopping mall in the city. It is still İzmir's largest outlet center and boasts of its own movie theaters, 8-lane indoor bowling
and an entertainment center (Smart Play) with various games.
Bornova's open market days or bazaar
s (held every Wednesday and Sunday) are also well-known in the region and a surprising variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, clothing, kitchenware and crafted products can be found by joining the youthful crowd of the market.
There are three theater buildings in Bornova, the one located inside the town's central park, Uğur Mumcu
Theater being the most popular. The one museum located within Bornova is Ege University's large Natural History
Museum, integrated into the university structure and it is the second largest in Turkey in its field after that MTA in Ankara. There are five libraries with a collection of books numbering 32,378 in total (excepting Ege University library) and three congress centers, all three privately managed within the structure of Bornova's single large hotel.
279 parks in all, almost all with playfields for children, are scattered across Bornova. Pınarbaşı racing (go-kart
and motorcycle
) fields, which is Turkey's longest, covering an area of 25 hectares, 7 swimming pools, 8 tennis courts, 2 indoor sports halls, 4 soccer fields and 54 basketball fields compose Bornova's sports infrastructure. 8,591 licensed sports persons inhabit the district.
Five newspapers are published in Bornova and two radio stations are in activity. The total number of cable TV subscriptions is 27,066. 412 civil associations are registered in Bornova and the total number of their members is 36,525. There are about a hundred mosques and three churches, including the abandoned, but still in reasonably good condition, Greek Orthodox Church
in Doğanlar neighborhood.
A large recreational area which bears Homer
's name, to whom İzmir lays one of the strongest claims, is in phase of construction in a 3,5 km long valley to the northeast of Bornova center, and it is already very popular among residents although, located at some distance from the poet's native river Meles
, the choice of the name may be historically discutable for pedantics. There is also a Roman
bridge on part of the River Nif which crosses Bornova district area. The mountain passage at the locality called Belkahve where, coming from the east, one sees İzmir for the very first time and in a very impressive panorama, is within Bornova district and is now arranged into a park and picnic area in memory of one such impressed incomer in 1922, Atatürk. Efforts are also made to preserve, restore and promote the picturesque village of Yakaköy with many old houses and fountains in Turkish style.
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
in İzmir Province
Izmir Province
İzmir Province is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast, whose capital is the city of İzmir. On the west it is surrounded by the Aegean sea, and it encloses the Gulf of İzmir. Its area is 11,973 km.2, population 3.948.848 . The population was 3,370,866 in 2000...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. It is the third largest district in İzmir's Greater Metropolitan Area of and is almost fully urbanized at the rate of 98,6 per cent, with corresponding high levels of development in terms of industry and services. Bornova center is situated at a distance of 8 km (5 mi) to the northeast from the traditional center of İzmir (Konak Square
Konak Square
Konak Square is a busy square at the southern end of Atatürk Caddesi in the Konak district of İzmir, Turkey. The square is the busiest part of the city, as Konak is the main place of İzmir.-Buildings in the Square:...
in Konak, İzmir) and 5 km (3 mi) from the coastline at the tip of the Gulf of İzmir
Gulf of Izmir
The Gulf of İzmir , formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the peninsula of Karaburun and the mainland area of Foça...
to the west. Bornova district area is surrounded by the district areas of Manisa
Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...
center and Menemen
Menemen
Menemen is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey as well as the district's central town. The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River...
to the north, Kemalpaşa
Kemalpasa
Kemalpaşa is a large town and the center of the district of the same name in İzmir Province, Turkey. Its district area extends immediately to the east of İzmir's eastern-most metropolitan district, Bornova, and Kemalpaşa town being at a distance of only from the historical and traditional center...
to the east, Buca
Buca
Buca is a district of İzmir Province of Turkey. It is one of the main districts of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.Buca was one of the preferred settlement areas of İzmir's community of Levantines...
to the south, and Konak and Karşıyaka
Karsiyaka
Karşıyaka is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. It is part of the Greater Metropolitan Area of İzmir, in other words a metropolitan district, the second largest after Konak in terms of population, and it is almost entirely urbanized at the rate of 99,9 per cent, with corresponding high levels...
to the west, where the larger part of İzmir's urban area extends. Bornova is home to Ege University
Ege University
Ege University is a public university in İzmir, Turkey. It was founded in 1955 with the Faculties of Medicine and Faculty of Agriculture...
's main campus and for many at national level in Turkey Bornova's name is synonymous with the university's hospital, one of the largest and the foremost medical centers in western Turkey since decades.
Name and origins
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
period, Bornova was called "Birunabad", often rendered as "Bournabad" or "Bournabat" in Western sources, although explanations as to how that name was composed vary. A number of sources seek the explanation in the Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish language
The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
term birun, which means "outer, exterior", abad being a suffix common to a number of cities across the Islamic world and which forms a place name when attached to the name of a person or to a proper name
Proper name
"A proper name [is] a word that answers the purpose of showing what thing it is that we are talking about" writes John Stuart Mill in A System of Logic , "but not of telling anything about it"...
, such as Haydarabad or Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
. Although befitting a settlement slightly outside a greater metropolitan zone, that the name "Birunabad" is based on an adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
in Bornova's case, makes an association with an earlier Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
name more likely. In fact, under the Byzantine and Nicean Empires the region was called "Prinobaris" and was notable for being a source of considerable revenues for the Haghia Sophia from its attached properties here, and was for this reason alternatively known as "Hagiosophitike chora". As such, Birunabad, Bournabat and now Bornova could be converted forms of this name.
The recent discovery, within the boundaries of Bornova district, of Yeşilova Höyük
Yesilova Höyük
Yeşilova Höyük is a höyük in Bornova, Turkey, and is the first known settlement in prehistory in the area of İzmir. It was occupied continuously from roughly 6500 to 4000 BCE, and was covered with silt afterwards....
, on which the fieldwork continues, seems to indicate that Bornova's alluvial plain, fed by several small streams, was the site of the very first settlement by the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
-Calcolithic inhabitants of the region across present-day İzmir's metropolitan area.
Administrative divisions
The municipality of Bornova was established in 1881 and the town became a district center in 1957. The incumbent mayor of İzmir Greater Metropolitan Municipality, Aziz KocaoğluAziz Kocaoglu
Aziz Kocaoğlu is the mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality , Turkey's third largest city.He was born in 1948 in Tokat in north-central Turkey. He graduated from the Economy School of İzmir's Ege University in 1973 and received a master's degree in management from İstanbul University in 1974...
, was the mayor of Bornova before taking over his present office for the city as a whole.
The urban area is divided into 36 officially constituted and delimited neighborhoods. Several unofficial denominations for neighborhoods are also in common use across İzmir and beyond to describe localities often with determined centers but vague boundaries, such as Altındağ.
Twelve small villages, mostly located in the forested uplands around Mount Yamanlar and with a cumulative population of 6,354 -as against the district total of 464,694-, depend Bornova prefecture. According to the estimates made by the Izmir Chamber of Commerce, commuters and other people visiting Bornova on a daily basis could account for an additional 300,000 to be cumulated with the district population.
19th century Bornova and the great Levantine mansions
| 19th century landmarks of Bornova | Explanations |
| Paterson House | Currently, only very partially restored |
| Edwards House ("Murad House", "Fairy's House") |
Restored for use as youth center by AE |
| Charlton Whittall House | Restored for use as AE Rectorate |
| Richard Whittall House | Awaiting restoration |
| Davy House | |
| Wilkinson House | Restored in 2008 for use by AE |
| Former English Club House ("Well House") |
Formerly part of Charlton Whittall Estate |
| Aliberti House | |
| Balliani House | |
| Bari House | Restored for use by AE |
| La Fontaine House | Restored for use by AE |
| Pierre Pagy House | |
| Belhomme House | Used as municipal library |
| Pandespanian House | |
| Steinbüchel House | |
| Tristram House | |
| St. Mary's Magdalene Anglican Church | Used once a month to serve the diminished Anglican congregation of Bornova |
| Bornova Anglican Cemetery | Still a used cemetery with binding criteria concerning burial |
| Bornova Catholic Church | Used as the Catholic Church and dominates the central square |
With a total bed capacity of only 400 across the district, most of which is accounted by the suburb's single large hotel, the accommodation facilities are rather limited inside Bornova, and the hotels in İzmir's center is generally preferred for a night's stay.
Despite that, visitors on a leisure tour are a common sight in Bornova's streets due to the town's historical center having been much in favor in the 19th century among İzmir's European and Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
ine residents who left very visible architectural traces, in the form especially of the Levantine mansions of İzmir
Levantine mansions of Izmir
Levantine mansions of Izmir refer to about thirty stately residences, dating principally from the 19th century and of which a significant number remain intact to this day, by being restored and continuing to be used and visited, in İzmir, Turkey. These residences differ from the traditional...
.
Indeed, Bornova used to be a summer residence for many foreign consuls and wealthy businessmen fleeing the stagnantly hot weather in central İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
to seek the cooler breeze of the slopes of Mount Yamanlar, the departure point of Bornova in its beginnings. This move by diplomats and the rich was at the very origin of the town's growth in the beginning of the 19th century, until which time Bornova used to be a small forestry village, recorded in Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
times principally in connection with the task of guarding the mountain passes leading to İzmir which was assigned to its inhabitants in exchange of certain tax reliefs. Moves to Bornova during summer for a month or two had entered among the habits of İzmir's European/Levantine inhabitants since the preceding century, but while their rich increasingly opted to live here on a permanent basis, the city's Europeans/Levantines with more modest social conditions seem to have ceased to come to Bornova, even for the summer, by the 1820s. The mansions and residences built in the 19th century, most of which reached our day, restored and in public or private use, are usually still called under the prestigious names of the former owners, such as Whittall, Maltass, Paterson, Giraud, Edwards, Belhomme, Pandespanian. There is a small Catholic Church named the "Church of Santa Maria" in the main square of Bornova and an Anglican chapel and cemetery nearby,both dating from the 19th century, landmarks of Bornova's cosmopolitan past. Despite the obvious luxurious style of the residences they built, these new inhabitants did not always have lives in all comfort. The soar observed in the course of the 19th century in a particular form of brigandage, sometimes interpreted as a form of social resistance and usually associated with efe tradition and with the coastal strait along the Aegean Sea as well as its valleys reaching inland, often had Bornova as its frontier land. A number of notorious cases of kidnapping involving brigands and the owners of these residences and high demands of ransom occurred on a frequent basis for almost a hundred years.
Bornova also made sports history in Turkey when the first football match ever held in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
was played in Bornova in 1890 between British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
sailors on shore leave
Shore leave
Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is culturally infamous for its excess. Sailors without family obligations and with basic lodging needs provided aboard ship may spend their wages for the journey in a brief period of extravagance ashore and return to...
against young men of İzmir. Turkey's first athletic contest was also held in Bornova in 1895.
Modern Bornova
Bornova greatly extended in the last decades from its nest under Mount Yamanlar, where the historic and popular Turkish quarter of Erzene was juxtaposed by Levantine settlements, and covers today almost fully its surrounding plain, formerly renowned for its fertility, that carries the same name as the district. The previous tangerineTangerine
__notoc__The tangerine is an orange-colored citrus fruit which is closely related to the Mandarin orange . Taxonomically, it should probably be formally named as a subspecies or variety of Citrus reticulata; further work seems to be required to ascertain its correct scientific name...
orchards, as well as the famed okra
Okra
Okra is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is valued for its edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with supporters of South Asian, Ethiopian and West African origins...
(gumbo
Gumbo
Gumbo is a stew or soup that originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century. It consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable holy trinity of celery, bell peppers, and onions...
) gardens synonymous with the town's name (Bornova bamyası), which had a secure place among the dozen cultivars, traditional and commercial, of Turkey, were for the most part replaced by apartment blocks and the notoriety of Bornova's okras are now taken over by those of Urla. The urban growth occurred the direction both of the seashore and to the east towards Kemalpaşa
Kemalpasa
Kemalpaşa is a large town and the center of the district of the same name in İzmir Province, Turkey. Its district area extends immediately to the east of İzmir's eastern-most metropolitan district, Bornova, and Kemalpaşa town being at a distance of only from the historical and traditional center...
, as well as to the south in Altındağ zone and İzmir-Aydın
Aydin
Aydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...
motorway.
The population's growth rate reached as high as 30-35 per cent in certain years. New neighborhoods consisting of block apartments were built rapidly and some of these neighborhoods carry the names of the real estate developers who had initiated the construction boom, such as Özkanlar and Çamkıran. Bornova could nevertheless preserve its orderly outlook, with privately -and legally- built constructions and social housing projects keeping at pace with the increase in population, and very few slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
-type residences, of which many boomtown
Boomtown
A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
s across Turkey are still scourged with. Bornova district counts 147,037 residential buildings.
On the other hand, a number of tragedies occurred in recent past due to delays in improvements along the river beds of the four streams that cross Bornova to join the Gulf of İzmir (Bornova, Laka, Manda and Şeytanderesi brooks), while residences were mushrooming around these. Furthermore, two cement mill
Cement mill
A cement mill is the equipment used to grind the hard, nodular clinker from the cement kiln into the fine grey powder that is cement...
s which were constructed and stone quarries which were opened in what was empty fields decades ago are now located next to residences, and the pollution caused by the former establishments is an ongoing issue of concern.
Transports
A "square", more in the form of crossroads in roundabout, slightly past the entry into Bornova coming from Manisa and which continues towards İzmir center, is the focal point of motor vehicle traffic in Bornova, with Ege University campus and large department stores extending to its south and residential areas served by smaller streets to the north.Bornova center is served by a railway connection since 1867, initially by a branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
of İzmir-Kasaba (Turgutlu
Turgutlu
Turgutlu is a very large town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2009 census, population of the district is 140,753 of which 115930 live in the city of Turgutlu.The district covers an area of and the city lies at an elevation of...
) railway completed during the same decade.
Bornova is currently the eastern terminus of İzmir's subway rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
line whose extension continues, and access to and from the city center, as well as between various localities of İzmir is relatively easy with either public or private transports.
Since İzmir's central bus terminal
Bus terminus
A bus terminus is a designated place where a bus or coach starts or ends its scheduled route. The terminus is the designated place that a timetable is timed from. Termini can be located at bus stations, interchanges, bus garages or simple bus stops. Termini can both start and stop at the same...
, the huge İZOTAŞ in Altındağ quarter where an estimated fifty thousand people arrive or depart each day, as well as the road junctions connecting İzmir and the regions to its south, to İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
and the rest of Turkey, are located within the boundaries of Bornova, intercity connections are made relatively easy.
Education
| Type of educational establishment |
Nr. of institutions |
Male students |
Female students |
Teachers |
| Kindergarten | 102 | 2,091 | 2,078 | 225 |
| Primary school | 80 | 30,529 | 27,928 | 2,296 |
| Secondary-level professional |
22 | 5,732 | 7,067 | 771 |
| Other high schools | 19 | 4,712 | 3,515 | 501 |
| Total | 223 | 43,063 | 40,588 | 37,093 |
Bornova counts 80 primary schools and 102 kindergartens. At secondary-level education, there are 19 high schools and 22 professional schools. The figures for the student and teacher's corps are shown in the table. The average student per teacher ratio obtained (22,1%), with primary education the most congested at 25,5%, correspond to rather comfortable levels compared to many cases across Turkey.
Higher-level educational institutions are assembled under the very large structure of Ege University, which brings together 11 faculties, 7 institutes, 6 higher education centers and 7 higher professional schools and 25 research centers. The university had 42,693 students and 2,895 academic staff in 2007. Its campus is also an important center of culture, sports, leisure and entertainment for all across İzmir.
In adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
, the state-managed Public Training Center and Professional Training Centers offer courses in various practical fields with a total of 100 trainers, and 12,356 people including participants in literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
courses received courses in these establishments in 2006. Illiteracy is an issue almost exclusively restricted to new migrants into Bornova, and especially to women among these. There are also a number of private initiatives in the same field, such as the 29 companies offering drivers license courses, although the necessity of extending such services further and deeper is a common concerrn frequently expressed at all levels.
Professions
| HEALTH | Nr. of institutions |
Nr. of beds |
Nr. of doctors |
Nr. of nurses |
Nr. of auxiliary staff |
Nr. of patients served in 2006 |
| University hospital |
1 | 1,811 | 2,078 | 225 | 225 | 629,235 |
| Public clinics | 19 | none | 127 | 179 | 88 | n/a |
| Polyclinic | 23 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Urgency and traumatology hospital |
1 | 63 | 100 | 68 | 100 | 492,752 |
| General hospitals |
2 | 2,400 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dispensary (for tuberculosis) |
1 | none | 5 | 4 | 5 | n/a |
| Mothercare, childcare, family planning centers |
3 | none | 25 | 32 | 11 | 1,140,018 |
| Village clinic | 6 | none | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dental institute | 1 | none | n/a | 14 | n/a | 128,585 |
| Medical labs | 28 | none | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Pharmacies | 208 | none | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
The total of district's commercial enterprises numbering 28,016, the figure reached by cumulating the total production, retail, wholesale units and connected offices neighbors around forty five thousand, which results in the picture of a very active district.
855 Bornova companies are registered exporters and a total amount of 596,224,735 US Dollars could be estimated for 2006 as exports which were made by Bornova district companies. 83 companies with foreign capital participation operate in Bornova and the recorded amount of foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
s between 1997-2007 was 71,928,267 US Dollars. Among instantly recognizable international names which operate with sizable Bornova bases, BMC
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
, Tuborg, Efes Pilsen, CMS
CMS
-Colleges:* CMS College of Science & Commerce Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India* CMS College Kottayam, in Kottayam, Kerala, India* Chicago Medical School, in North Chicago, Illinois* City Montessori School, in Lucknow, India-Middle schools:...
tyres can be cited. The textile and clothing wholesalers are concentrated in MTK industrial and marketing zone, built specially for these industries.
Bornova's vast plain has been a preferred location since more than a century for İzmir's industrial base. The choice of Bornova by numerous official institutions as their regional headquarters, combined with the services industry, with medical and legal services especially standing out, as well as other professions, all contribute to the pace of the district. Agricultural production is comparatively very modest in added value.
Shopping and Leisure
One of the two largest shopping malls of İzmir, Forum Bornova, extending over 67,000 square meters, is located in Bornova and it includes an IKEAIKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
store, a Tesco Kipa superstore, seven movie theaters, and other leisure and entertainment facilities. Bornova's other shopping mall, Park Bornova, was, at 33,000 square meters, İzmir's largest at the time of its opening and the first to fit the description of a modern shopping mall in the city. It is still İzmir's largest outlet center and boasts of its own movie theaters, 8-lane indoor bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
and an entertainment center (Smart Play) with various games.
Bornova's open market days or bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
s (held every Wednesday and Sunday) are also well-known in the region and a surprising variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, clothing, kitchenware and crafted products can be found by joining the youthful crowd of the market.
There are three theater buildings in Bornova, the one located inside the town's central park, Uğur Mumcu
Ugur Mumcu
Uğur Mumcu was an intrepid Turkish investigative journalist for the leading Kemalist broadsheet, Cumhuriyet. He was assassinated with a bomb placed in his car, outside his home.- Biography :...
Theater being the most popular. The one museum located within Bornova is Ege University's large Natural History
Natural History
Natural history is the scientific study of plants or animals.Natural History may also refer to:In science and medicine:* Natural History , Naturalis Historia, a 1st-century work by Pliny the Elder...
Museum, integrated into the university structure and it is the second largest in Turkey in its field after that MTA in Ankara. There are five libraries with a collection of books numbering 32,378 in total (excepting Ege University library) and three congress centers, all three privately managed within the structure of Bornova's single large hotel.
279 parks in all, almost all with playfields for children, are scattered across Bornova. Pınarbaşı racing (go-kart
Go-kart
thumb|A [[Kart racing|racing kart]] at the [[Commission Internationale de Karting|CIK-FIA]] European Championship 2008A go-kart is a small four-wheeled vehicle...
and motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
) fields, which is Turkey's longest, covering an area of 25 hectares, 7 swimming pools, 8 tennis courts, 2 indoor sports halls, 4 soccer fields and 54 basketball fields compose Bornova's sports infrastructure. 8,591 licensed sports persons inhabit the district.
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
in Doğanlar neighborhood.
A large recreational area which bears Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's name, to whom İzmir lays one of the strongest claims, is in phase of construction in a 3,5 km long valley to the northeast of Bornova center, and it is already very popular among residents although, located at some distance from the poet's native river Meles
River Meles
The river Meles is a stream charged with history and famous in literature, especially by virtue of being associated in a common and consistent tradition with Homer's birth and works, and which flowed by the ancient city of Smyrna, and a namesake of which flows through the present-day metropolitan...
, the choice of the name may be historically discutable for pedantics. There is also a Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
bridge on part of the River Nif which crosses Bornova district area. The mountain passage at the locality called Belkahve where, coming from the east, one sees İzmir for the very first time and in a very impressive panorama, is within Bornova district and is now arranged into a park and picnic area in memory of one such impressed incomer in 1922, Atatürk. Efforts are also made to preserve, restore and promote the picturesque village of Yakaköy with many old houses and fountains in Turkish style.
See also
- İzmirIzmirIzmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
- Ege UniversityEge UniversityEge University is a public university in İzmir, Turkey. It was founded in 1955 with the Faculties of Medicine and Faculty of Agriculture...
- Bornova Anadolu LisesiBornova Anadolu LisesiBornova Anadolu Lisesi , commonly known in foreign languages with its English name Bornova Anatolian High School, is one of the most renowned and prestigious high schools in Turkey.-History:...
- Bornova BelediyeBornova BelediyeBornova Belediyespor is a basketball club based in Bornova district of İzmir, Turkey that plays in the Turkish Basketball League since 2009-2010 season. Their home arena is the İzmir Halkapınar Sport Hall.-Current squad 2010-2011:-External links:*...
- Bornova (Izmir Metro)Bornova (Izmir Metro)Bornova is currently the eastern terminus of the İzmir Metro. The station was built in 2000 a few meters west of the former Smyrna Cassaba Railway's station and has a connection to the Bornova Bus Terminal. The Izmir Metro is currently extending the line further to Bornova's city center, because...
- Altındağ, İzmir
- Yeşilova HöyükYesilova HöyükYeşilova Höyük is a höyük in Bornova, Turkey, and is the first known settlement in prehistory in the area of İzmir. It was occupied continuously from roughly 6500 to 4000 BCE, and was covered with silt afterwards....
- Levantine mansions of İzmirLevantine mansions of IzmirLevantine mansions of Izmir refer to about thirty stately residences, dating principally from the 19th century and of which a significant number remain intact to this day, by being restored and continuing to be used and visited, in İzmir, Turkey. These residences differ from the traditional...