Buca Forbes Street Sevgi Way, which was known to be open to traffic until the 1980s, has managed to become the iconic street of Buca for years, and is a road known and recognized by many Izmir people in general. Forbes Street, located right across Şirinyer Park, is the most crowded pedestrian street in Buca, where hundreds of businesses are located, consisting of restaurants, cafes, companies selling household goods and clothing stores for food and beverage.
It consists of a 2.5-kilometer axis starting from Seda Patisserie across Şirinyer Park and extending to Buca Seyfi Demirsoy Training and Research Hospital. With the closure of Forbes Street, which bore the burden of Buca traffic until the 80s, a culture that would turn into a resting and shopping center was formed in about 40 years.
Forbes Street, named after Forbes, one of the symbol-rich Levantine families of Izmir, was transformed into a path of love by the Municipality of Buca on October 27, 1998. Opened in 1998, Buca Forbes Street Sevgi Way had a great impact in those years with the careful landscaping and mini zoo of the municipality in the first years of its opening, and these days are still remembered by many people today.
Buca Forbes Street Sevgi Way has undergone different transformations in 40 years as the first open shopping center in Buca, similar to its examples. It is possible to reach many product groups and services, from pharmacies to airline ticket offices, from stores selling ready-to-wear products to pet shops, from restaurants cafes to jewelers, on Forbes Street, which was also open to traffic for a period of time with its 2.5-kilometer length.
It is possible to see someone every hour of every day of the week on Forbes Street Sevgi Way, which is one of the first places that come to mind in Buca when considering the meeting area. It is quite common to see an active circulation of people at night, though not as much as during the daytime, with the Forbes Street, which is secluded in places with the shops closing in the evening, and the restaurants and cafes that are open until late at night.
Where Does Forbes Street Get Its Name?
Forbes Family, one of the Levantine families with close commercial connections with Europe, was one of the richest life to live in the entire Ottoman Empire, only in Buca and Izmir.
They came to such a point in their business life, which they started with the licorice root trade in Söke, that they built a railway between Şirinyer and Buca (Aydın-İzmir) in a short time, when there was hardly even have a railway in the Ottoman Empire. In addition, they built the railway and station, which could be considered a great luxury at that time, in order to reach their homes more easily with the Rees Family, who was one of the wealthy families of the period.
Although the construction of the railway, where everything was covered by them, including their expenses, seems to have been built only to reach their mansions more easily, many things they did after them were also used for public benefit. Therefore, it would not be possible not to see the name of the Forbes Family, which has peaked in name in Buca, as a street name in Buca.
For the Forbes Mansion article 👇🏼
Where is Forbes Street? 📍
How to get to Forbes Street? 🚖
🚌 Bus: There are many bus stops to reach Forbes Street, which continues for 2.5 kilometers parallel to Menderes Street. If you want to tour Forbes Street from the beginning, you can get off at Şirinyer Public Market stop and walk for 2 minutes.
It may take only 5 minutes to reach Forbes Street from Izban and Şirinyer Station.
