TP15: The Green Bursa Excursion

One of the gates of the old Istanbul Wall or the Walls of Constantinople as it was popularly known, built by Constantine the Great in the 7th Century. Most parts of the walls are well maintained.
It was raining, the ambience temperature was about 7 degrees centigrade, after having our breakfast, around 07:20 hours we waited at the hotel lobby, and prepared for our 3 hours excursion to the Green Bursa. Exactly at 07:30 hours, the SHE tour officer greeted us, invited us to his coaster, and went to another hotel fetching an old couple. The coaster brought us somewhere in front of the Topkapi Palace along the coastal road of Marmara. There, we stopped and joined another mini bus for the Bursa trip. With us were an Old Russian woman, one romantic French old couple, two Tunisians, and an Egyptian woman at her early 30s. Amid the windy, rainy and chilly weather, around 08:00 hours, the bus started to move heading towards South-Eastern Asia part of Turkey, passing through the Istanbul’s gate, crossing the Golden Horn. According to Enil, our tour guide, the Golden Horn gets its name by the shape of the horn-like beach line, which glitters during the sunset. Few minutes after that, we approached the popular Bosporus Bridge crossing the spectacular strait of Istanbul popularly known as Bosporus.
The trip of our Tour 8 package is supposedly by three modes of transportations: 1st stage by bus to Tuzla about 50 km from Sultanahmet; one hour from Tuzla to Yalova by boat, and another around 70 km ride by bus again to Bursa. The 3rd stage is by cable car or teleferik to Uludag or Great Mountain. However, the Sea of Marmara was not as calm as she was use to be, due to the windy weather, all the small and medium size boats were forced to berthed or docked. Hence, the four hours bus ride to Bursa.

A blessing in disguise though, we gained and experienced many things through the 4 hours trip. From the Istanbul-Ankara’s highway, we exit to the coastal road and passed through few major towns, such as Tuzla, Gebze, Golcuk, Tavsancil, Izmit and few other interesting towns. We had a brief stopped at the famous Turkish delight Luke Safranbolu lokumcusu outlet. Nana bought a box of the Delight and yes, it was delicious but not a delighting thing for those who have high sugar level in their blood stream.

The beautiful contemporary building, colorful houses, modern designed amenities, and greenery fresh scenery, despite drizzling rain (almost 50% of the journey) had somehow or rather entertained and refreshed us.

Why Bursa? Yes, there are many other interesting places in Turkey, for example Cappadocia, Edirne, Van, Pamukale, etc. We had opted for Bursa mainly because it was in lined with our trip objective, that is, to see the past glory and achievement of Islam vis-à-vis the rise and fall of the great empires. Some background about Bursa: Historically it was known as Prusa, is a city in northwestern Turkey and the seat of Bursa Province. With a population of around 2.6 million people, it is Turkey's fourth largest city, as well as one of the most industrialized and culturally charged metropolitan centers in the country.

About 250 kilometers from Istanbul, Bursa is settled on the northwestern slopes of Mount Uludağ in the southern Marmara Region. It is bordered by the Sea of Marmara and Yalova to the north; Kocaeli and Sakarya to the northeast; Bilecik to the east; and Kütahya and Balıkesir to the south. In the above photo, the friendly English speaking Russian woman at her mid 50s (I think) travelled alone. Travelling is hobby.

The city is frequently cited as "Yeşil Bursa" means "Green Bursa" mainly in a reference to the evergreen parks and gardens located across its urban areas, as well as to the vast forests in rich variety that extend in its surrounding region. The city is synonymous with Uludağ or Grand Mountain which towers behind its core and which is also a famous ski resort.

The earliest known site at this location was Cius, which Philip V of Macedonia granted to the Bithynian king Prusias I in 202 BC, for his help against Pergamum and Heraclea Pontica (modern Karadeniz Ereğli). Prusias renamed the city after himself, as Prusa.

Prusa evolved into one of the largest cities of Mysia and retained its importance for the region throughout the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. Its strategic location on the westernmost end of the famous Silk Road ensured Prusa to remain as one of the largest centers of silk trade throughout the Medieval period.

Bursa became the first major capital city of the early Ottoman Empire following its capture from the Byzantines in 1326. As a result, the city witnessed a considerable amount of urban growth throughout the 14th century.

After conquering Edirne (Adrianople) in 1365 the Ottomans turned it into a joint capital city for governing their European realms, but Bursa remained the most important Anatolian administrative and commercial center even after it lost its status as the sole Ottoman capital.

During the Ottoman period, Bursa continued to be the source of most royal silk products. Aside from the local silk production, the city imported raw silk from Iran, and occasionally from China, and was the main production center for the kaftans, pillows, embroidery and other silk products for the Ottoman palaces until the 17th century.

There are few oldest Masjid, such as the Grand Masjid and the Green Masjid, built by the earlier Ottoman Sultans apart from their mausoleums are located in Bursa. Numerous edifices built throughout the Ottoman period constitute the city's main landmarks besides the surrounding fertile plain, its thermal baths, several interesting museums, notably a rich museum of archaeology, and a rather orderly urban growth are further principal elements that complete Bursa's overall picture that lured and attracted us to put in our agenda.

Bursa is also home to some of the most famous Turkish dishes, especially candied chestnuts and İskender kebap. Its peaches are also well renowned. Among its depending district centers, İznik, historic Nicaea, is especially notable for its long history and important edifices. Bursa is home to the Uludağ University, and its population attains one of the highest overall levels of education in Turkey. The city has traditionally been a pole of attraction, and was a major center for refugees from various ethnic backgrounds who immigrated to Anatolia from the Balkans during the loss of the Ottoman territories in Europe between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Another traditional artisanship in the city, among many others, is knife production, which continues today. Historically, the city was a center for the production of horse carriages during the Ottoman period. In the latter half of the 20th century, Bursa became the largest center of motor vehicle production in Turkey.

The 5 hours wonderful trip with 3 stops, reached the Border around 13:00 hours. Enil was right; there were a lot of medium size factories and automobiles assembly line with grand showroom at this province. Finally, after 10 minutes ascending the narrow winding road, we arrived at the first stage of the Uludag foot at around 13:17 hours. Our first activity was lunch. We were starving but the Eskender Kebab by Hunkar (will share more about Hunkar later) was great and reenergizing.

After experiencing the Eskender Kebab at Hunkar, we went to the Green Masjid, which was actually beige from outside; the Green Mausoleum of Sultan Mehmed I; the Silk Bazaar and Turkish delight Corner. . All these monuments and well-known stores are just within 10 minutes walking distance. Here, Afi, M Asri, M Aiman & Afiqah bought their winter clothing, as the price was reasonably cheap. I bought a box of the famous Turkish apple tea for memento.

Later, we went to the cable car or locally known as teleferik station to check whether it is operating or not. Unfortunate us, it was stopped operation mainly because of unsafe condition caused by relatively strong wind. As a responsible and tourist-friendly tour operator, as an assurance, Enil invited me to the operation room to confirm the situation.

We were brought to another interesting place at the eastern side of the greenery hilly Bursa called Tahiri Cinar – a big 600 years old tree instead. She invited for a cup of Turkish Sehlab at a very cozy decent restaurants around the tree. Thirty minutes later, we made our move to the last item in the program list.

The sun had obediently set and retired its task, it was maghrib – dawn, we went to the Ulu Camii or Grand Masjid and the nearby popular places – the Emirhan, the narrow covered Bazaar. Could not recall the name of the road, there were many modern contemporary medium size shopping malls and shops selling all sorts of things. The maghrib prayer congregation was about 10 minutes concluded. We performed our obligation and spent sometime ‘iktikaf inside the Ulu Camii. Around 19:45 hours, we adjourned and departed Bursa for Istanbul.