7 May, Bursa
Gazcilar
Oteli 50TL
The
world’s first stock market was established in Bursa, capital of the early
Ottoman Empire. Today this bustling city of 2 million is still a major commercial
hub, its people friendly and helpful, its small businesses thriving. We visited
the impressive Ulu Camii (Great Mosque), built in 1396 to celebrate the
vanquishing of the Crusaders. Its founder had originally promised to build 20
mosques should he succeed against the Crusaders; in the end he settled for one
mosque with 20 domes! Bursa is famous for camel-hide shadow puppets and silk –
both of which we briefly inspected in the covered bazaar – and for candied
chestnuts and Iskender kebap – both of which we sampled (see our food blog). We
also visited the Irgandi Bridge, which spans a gorge running through the city
and which, like Florence’s Ponte Vecchio though considerably smaller in scale,
is topped with an arcade of tiny art and tea shops.
Bursa Ulu Camii (Great Mosque)
Bursa Ulu Camii (Great Mosque)
Bursa Ulu Camii (Great Mosque)
Bursa Irgandi Bridge
Bursa