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.
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.