Forum Bornova

Bornova Forum — what can I say? Its pretty awesome. If you think its «small» now, you should have seen it in 2007/2008…the expansion they made recently (as of last year when I went back) is pretty significant. Was the go to place in regard to hitting up IKEA for apartment items & the huge Kipa where I did most of my grocery shopping… kill time at the movie theater & grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants. Plenty of shopping to be done. This open air shopping center is legit.
As for money conversion, I have never had any issues (since 2007). Don’t be scared to use your debit card out in town as the system do in fact convert your USD to TL automatically. Also the various ATMs around the shopping center are perfectly fine to use. 99% of them will allow you to withdraw TL & the other 1% will allow for USD/​Euro also. We usually drove from Alsancak (which is roughly a 10 – 15 min drive depending on traffic) & parking is pretty easy. IIRC, they offer valet, but self parking is free so :)
I will add this however, even with the expansion this mall pales in comparison to
say Agora or the gigantic Optimum (100% LEGIT!)

The go to place when you have nothing else to do.
This is a slice of Turkish suburbia in the eyes of an American.
For those who do not have the luxury of having a Watson’s in their country (!!!) this is a great place to stock up on their health goodies.
Note of warning though: You cannot convert to TL without someone who is Turkish at the banks in the mall. Once in LC Waikiki they let my friend convert USD to TL after she made a huge purchase, but don’t bet on that to complete your shopping.
Very clean atmosphere, but not the hugest selection of stores. Can get old after a while.
We often came here via taxi, but via the train, I think you can get off at Ege Universitesi and then walk across the campus until you hit the mall.
Ikea has great comfort food for those missing a slice of Americana/​Swedish food.

A big good shopping mall. Many brands available.