
2 months after it's inscription to World Heritage List Bursa hasn't experienced yet big tourists masses. Actually I didn't meet any other western tourists than myself but many Arab tourists have found this city and it's bazaars. Also locals were really interested to start a conversation with me which also shows that Bursa hasn't been found by tourists.
Also Bursa doesn't seem to be yet proud of it's World Heritage status as I didn't see any signs saying that I'm in a World Heritage city. In some brochures there were mentions that sites in Bursa were on tentative list so I guess they're waiting for update. But all the sites I visited were in perfect clean condition which shows that inscription didn't come as a surprise for the city.
Funniest thing is that Bursa is supposed to show the birth of Ottoman empire but actually only few of the sites are in original condition. Many of them have been destroyed once or twice in earthquakes and renovated in later styles.
We started our visit at Bursa Citadel. You can find from there tombs of sultans Osman and Orhan. Osman was the first sultan of Ottoman empire and Orhan was his son. Tombs are really decorated and beautiful inside and represent late Ottoman baroque style as the original ones got destroyed in 1855. Next to the tombs is fine clock tower, the last one left in the city.
Next we explored the Grand Mosque or Ulu Cami. Ulu Cami is definitely one the most beautiful mosques I have ever visited. The fountain in the center and the glass roof give it a special character and the Arabic calligraphy on the walls is superb. The mosque represents the older Seljuk style and that's why stands out from rest of the mosques. After the mosques we explored the bazaars and khans around the mosque. My favorite was Koza Han with beautiful courtyard hosting a small mosque.
From the center we moved to Yesil Camii, Green Mosque in English. This mosque represents the pure Ottoman style with upside-down-T plan. As Blue Mosque, the Green Mosque got it's name from it's green interior. Next to the mosque is Green Tomb where sultan Mehmed I is resting with his family members. The tomb looks green from a far but close by you notice it's actually blue. The interior is nicely pink.
Next on our program was Emir Sultan Camii, little bit further away from Yesil Camii. Emir Sultan is made from wood and surrounded by green cemetary so it's atmosphere is very peaceful. I got to have a chat with imam who was surprised to see a tourist in the mosque who was not a muslim. Unfortunately this mosque is not included in the World Heritage inscription maybe because it was heavily restored in 1990s. It represents Ottoman rococo style.
From Emir Sultan we walked to Yildirim Beyazit Camii, our last mosque for the day. As we had already seen many Ottoman mosques that day there was nothing new for us anymore. We enjoyed watching the sunset from it's yard.
Next day we visited in Muradiye complex. The Muradiye Camii was again the basic Ottoman style. Around the mosque is 12 tombs but they were at the moment being renovated and it was not possible to walk in the park.
The parts we didn't visit of the World Heritage site were Murat I Hüdavendigar Camii and Cumalikizik which are more out of town.
Bursa's mosques were in size much smaller than the grand mosques in Istanbul and Edirne and represent totally different style so I think this was worthy addition to the World Heritage List. You can see the central sites in the city in one day but I would suggest to give 2 or 3 days for Bursa to fully explore it and it's surroundings, for example the mighty Uludag mountain and taste the amazing Iskender kebap and sugared chestnuts.
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