Things to do in Bursa
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Çiçek Izgara
One block from the Koza Parkı, behind the half-timbered belediye, the Çiçek grillhouse is bright and modern (good for lone women), with a first-floor salon to catch the flower-market action.
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Mahfel Mado
If you lunched on kebap then you'll probably be too full for dinner (no joke), so drop by Bursa's oldest cafe for a late-night dondurma (ice cream) brought to you by one of Turkey's best-known brands. Mado is set along a gorgeous ravine; snag a table amid chatty 20-somethings and shady trees, or grab your cone to go.
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City Museum
Bursa has a state-of-the-art City Museum, housed in what was once the old courthouse at Heykel. Ground-floor exhibits whip through the history of the city, with information on the sultans most closely associated with it. Unfortunately, the labelling is in Turkish only, apart from the section headings. Luckily the cultural and ethnographical collections upstairs need little explanation.
Down in the basement there are reconstructions of old shops which are wonderful, with films showing old-fashioned artisans at work. Newspaper clippings also show a couple of local characters to look out for: Deli Ayten, the banjo-playing bag lady, and 'Tarzan Ali', a 59-year-old former acti…
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Kapalı Çarşı
Behind the Ulu Cami, Bursa's sprawling Kapalı Çarşı is a great place to while away a few hours, especially if you find İstanbul's Grand Bazaar too touristy. At the centre of the Kapalı Çarşı, the bedesten (vaulted, fireproof enclosure for valuable goods) was built in the late 14th century by Yıldırım Beyazıt, although it was reconstructed after an earthquake in 1855. The market is renowned for its high-quality towels and bathrobes, should you have space in your luggage for such bulky items.
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Sakarya Caddesi
Formerly part of Bursa's Jewish quarter, Sakarya Caddesi acquired new fame from one Arap Şükrü, who opened a restaurant here decades ago. It was so successful that his descendants followed him into the business, and the street now has no less than five family restaurants of the same name, plus the inevitable copycat competitors. The whole upper end of the narrow lane is crammed with tables, so you can wander down and check the buzz before making your choice. Fish is the speciality, starting around €6 per portion, but meat and mezes are also available.
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Karagöz Sanat Evi
In Bursa, Şinasi Çelikkol has worked hard to keep the tradition of Karagöz puppetry alive and was instrumental in the setting up of the Karagöz Sanat Evi, opposite the Karagöz monument. It houses a small museum of puppetry with some magnificent examples from Uzbekistan. Şinasi Çelikkol's ethnographical collection is also on display here. If you would like to see the collection privately call into his shop - called, inevitably, Karagöz - in the Eski Aynalı Çarşı for an appointment.
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Ulu Cami
Prominently positioned on Atatürk Caddesi is the huge Ulu Cami, which is completely Seljuk in style and easily the most imposing of Bursa's mosques. Yıldırım Beyazıt funded the monumental building in 1396. His original pledge – following victory over the Crusaders in the Battle of Nicopolis – was to build 20 new mosques. His grandiose plans eventually got watered down to one mosque with 20 small domes, but despite the design trade-off, Ulu Cami is still a bold architectural statement. A minaret of daunting girth augments the 20 domes of the exterior, while inside the 'bigger is better' theme continues with immense portals and a forest of square pillars. Notice the fine wo…
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Yeşil Camii
A few minutes' walk uphill from Setbaşı, the Yeşil Camii, built for Mehmet I between 1419 and 1424, is a beautiful building representing a turning point in Turkish architectural style. Before this, Turkish mosques echoed the Persian style of the Seljuks, but in the Yeşil Camii a purely Turkish style emerged, and its influence is visible in Ottoman architecture across the country. Note the harmonious facade and the beautiful carved marble work around the central doorway. Look closely and you'll see the calligraphy around the niches framing the main door is all different and in some cases unfinished, the legacy of construction petering out three years after the death of Meh…
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Yeşil Türbe
In a small cypress-trimmed park surrounding the mosque is Yeşil Türbe, a mausoleum of Mehmed I (the fifth Ottoman sultan) constructed after his death in 1421. The structure is not actually green – the blue exterior tiles from Kütahya were added following the Bursa earthquake of 1855. However, this relatively recent makeover doesn't distract from its sublime, simple beauty, and the original interior tiles still provide an authentic and poignant touch.
Walk round the outside to see the tiled calligraphy above several windows. Inside, the most prominent tomb is that of the Yeşil Cami's founder, Mehmet I (Çelebi), surrounded by those of his children. There's also an impr…
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Sultan II Murat Camii
With a shady park in front and a quiet cemetery behind, the Sultan II Murat (Muradiye) Camii is a peaceful oasis in a busy city. The mosque itself dates from 1426 and imitates the style of the Yeşil Cami, with painted decorations and a very intricate mihrab. Beside the mosque itself are the 12 Sultan II Murat Camii Tombs which date from the 15th and 16th centuries, including that of Sultan Murat II (r 1421-51) himself.
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Yeni Kaplıca
On the northwestern side of the Kültür Parkı, the Yeni (new) bath was renovated in 1522 by Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent's grand vizier, Rüstem Paşa, on the site of a much older bath built by Justinian I. Besides the Yen bath itself, you'll also find the Kaynarca (Boiling) baths, limited to women; and the Karamustafa baths, with facilities for family bathing. Last admission is at 10pm; the full massage costs TL25 per half-hour.
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Tombs of Sultans Osman and Orhan
In a little park on the summit of Timurtaş Paşa Park are the Tombs of Sultans Osman and Orhan, founders of the Ottoman Empire. The original structures were destroyed in the earthquake of 1855 and rebuilt in Ottoman baroque style by Sultan Abdül Aziz in 1868. Osman Gazi's tomb is the more richly decorated of the two. Remove your shoes before entering either tomb.
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Emir Sultan Camii
Rebuilt by Selim III in 1805 and restored in the early 1990s, the Emir Sultan Camii echoes the romantic decadence of Ottoman rococo style, rich in wood, curves and painted arches on the outside. The interior is surprisingly plain, but the setting, next to a tree-filled cemetery overlooking the valley, is very pleasant.
Take a dolmuş heading for Emirsultan or any bus with 'Emirsultan' in its name. Walking from Yeşil Camii and Yeşil Türbe, you'll pass a cemetery containing the grave of İskender Usta, the kebap maestro himself.
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Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum
Nearby the Yeşil Camii is its medrese (seminary), which now houses the Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum. The collection includes pre-Ottoman İznik ceramics, the original door and mihrab curtains from the Yeşil Camii, jewellery, embroidery, calligraphy and dervish artefacts.
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Tofaş Museum of Anatolian Carriages
A short uphill walk south from Setbaşı, along Sakaldöken Caddesi, brings you to a small museum exhibiting old cars and even older horse-drawn carts. If the kids are all mosqued-out, bring along a few picnic goodies to throw together in the lovely Ottoman gardens. The museum used to be a silk factory.
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Ulumay Museum of Ottoman Folk Costumes & Jewellery
Also near the Sultan Murat II Camii is the Ulumay Museum of Ottoman Folk Costumes & Jewellery, an impressive private collection housed in the 1475 Sair Ahmet Paşa medrese. Affable owner/curator Esat Ulumay, a former economist and sword-dancer now considered a leading expert in Ottoman costume, likes to take visitors round the displays personally.
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Eski Kaplıca
Perhaps the most attractive bath is the beautifully restored Eski Kaplıca on Çekirge's eastern outskirts, managed by the Kervansaray Termal Hotel next door. The bath is done out in creamy marble and the hot rooms have plunge pools. The cost includes soap, shampoo, sauna and massage.
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Koza Han
The Kapalı Çarşı tumbles out into the surrounding streets, but at some point you will find the gateway into the Koza Han, which was built in 1490. Unsurprisingly, the building is full of expensive ipek (silk) shops. In the courtyard is a small mosque constructed for Yıldırım Beyazıt in 1491.
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Kebapçı İskender
A legend throughout all of Turkey, this dimly lit kebap shop opened its doors in 1867 serving what would become one of the most popular meat platters in the nation. In fact, the recipe was such a wild success that the owners patented the name: İskender kebap. These days, pictures of good old Izzy himself line the walls of the faux-heritage building (think KFC's Colonel Sanders sans goatee.) There are roughly a dozen other branches around Bursa, though this one is the original. If you're visiting the botanic garden in Soğanlı be sure to check out the larger iteration, with satin-draped dining rooms and a 'museum' dedicated to the coveted shaved meat.
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Ottoman House Museum
Across the park from the Sultan II Murat Camii mosque is the Ottoman House Museum, which should now be open, although it's pot luck whether you find anyone there even during normal opening hours. On the western side of the tombs is the 15th-century Muradiye Medresesi, a theological seminary restored in 1951 as a tuberculosis clinic.
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Eski Aynalı Çarşı
As you wander around, look for the Eski Aynalı Çarşı, which was originally the Orhangazi Hamam (1335) - the bathhouse of the Orhan Camii Külliyesi - as indicated by the domed ceiling with its skylights. This is a good place to shop for Karagöz shadow puppets and other traditional items.
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Irgandı Bridge
Crossing the river just north of the Setbaşı road bridge, the Irgandı Bridge has been restored in Ottoman style as a charming dual row of tiny yellow shops, selling handicrafts and other items under their tiled roofs. A couple of little cafés make it a nice spot for a browse and a cuppa.
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Emir Han
Beside the Ulu Cami is the Emir Han, used by many of Bursa's silk brokers. Camels from the silk caravans used to be corralled here and goods stored in the ground-floor rooms, while drovers and merchants slept and conducted business in the rooms above. It has a lovely fountain in its courtyard tea garden.
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Culture Park
The Culture Park lies north of the Muradiye complex but some way down the hill and boasts tea gardens and playgrounds. The whole park was relandscaped in 2006, and may take a couple of seasons to recover. On the Cultural Park grounds you will also find the Archaelogical Museum.
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Yıldırım Beyazıt Camii
Across the valley from the Emir Sultan Camii are the twin domes of the Yıldırım Beyazıt Camii, which was built earlier than the Yeşil Camii but forms part of the same architectural evolution.
Next to the mosque is its medrese, once a theological seminary, now a public health centre. Here you'll find the tombs of the mosque's founder, Sultan Beyazıt I, and his son İsa.
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