Green Bursa

Merhaba ~

Well, the cold that has been circulating through the students and professors involved in the program has finally hit home, and Maymuna is sick and feverish today. A good day to catch up on blogging! It was pretty good timing, because we went for a day trip to Bursa yesterday and we would not have wanted to miss it.

Right off the bat we were happy because we got to take a ferry most of the way there. Which means that Maymuna got another weird wafer! Yay!

Our first stop was the Ulu Cami - the Grand Mosque of Bursa. FYI, the Turkish word cami is pronounced JAM-ee and it means mosque. It was spectacular.  The story goes that Sultan Beyazit I pledged that if he won an upcoming battle that he would build 20 mosques in thanks. He did win the battle, but instead of building 20 mosques, he built one mosque with 20 domes!

Then we wandered around Bursa for a while, exploring the hans and markets.  A han, or a caravanserai as they are sometimes called, is essentially an inn where travelers could stop and rest for the night along various trade routes, and even in city centers. The floor plan is usually square-ish, and with the center open to the sky. The center of a han would probably hold a little mosque, and a place to wash and eat. The rooms along the bottom floor could be made into make-shift shops, while the rooms along the top floors would be places for the travelers to sleep at night. They could keep their wares and horses in the center of the han - at night the main door to the han entrance would be shut and locked, keeping everything safe inside.

There are many famous hans along the Silk Road, and Bursa has many beautiful ones. Some of them still function as hubs for specific crafts or trades, while others have been converted into shops and cafes, very pretty public spaces. Some are a combination of both. The fun of finding a han is that it just looks like a single large door from the outside, and then you walk through and find a beautiful square -

We wandered through the markets where the fruit and vegetables looked so vibrant and fresh. I came  upon this table of olives - I could not even get all the varieties in the frame. There were perhaps twenty or more!

We also found this shop which sold various jarred products, cheeses and HONEYS. There were several cases, as you can see, of different varieties...

Since the Iskender Kebab was born in Bursa, we had to indulge for lunch! This is a bed of pita bread strips with doner meat and tomato sauce on top, served with yogurt and a few vegetables. 

We got back on the bus with the students and visited the spectacular Yesil Mosque & Tomb (yesil means green):

Our last stop in Bursa was the Hudavendigar Mosque. This was a special treat because one of the security guards recognized Ozayr from a previous trip, and gave us behind the scenes access, including the terrace area that overlooks the plaza.

I wish we had more time in Bursa, as there was so much more to see! Forgive my brevity - you can read more about the beautiful city of Bursa HERE.