Bursa and Cumalikizik

Bursa is easily accessible by ferry and/or bus from Istanbul, making it worth a day trip or two to see. I used the Moovit app to navigate the public transportation system, for which you can use a contactless credit card to pay for. The sights in the city center are easy to walk from one to another, but if you want to go to the village of Cumalikizik you will need to use transportation. There are minibuses and city buses you can use -- note that minibuses can't be found online (ask around to find them) and you will need to pay in cash. I used the city buses, though, and it worked out just fine.

Cumalikizik is very tourist-forward and has a bunch of stalls for buying different souvenirs, if that's something you would like to do. There are also hotels you can stay the night at, although I didn't feel it was necessary. The village is a popular breakfast spot. I would reccommend getting to try "karadut suyu" (black mulberry juice) from a local seller, it was really delicious! In the village, there is a small museum (no English signage) that is free of charge. I found it interesting, so I would recommend coming with a translate app if you don't speak Turkish. Additionally, there is a house you can enter (Küpeli Ev) for a price of 60 liras in February 2025. You have to pay in cash. 

In October of 2023, on a brief road trip from Istanbul, I spent an afternoon and stayed overnight in Bursa, while also visiting Cumalıkızık the next morning.

My time in Bursa allowed me to visit four of the WHS components, the central Orhan Ghazi Külliye, the nearby mausoleum of Orhan Gazi in Tophane Park, and Yesil Külliye and Yildirim Külliye. Visiting other components felt a bit of an overkill, but covering all locations looks possible within a full day or maybe a day and a half; distances are not insurmountable on foot but also not trivial away from the central cluster of sights; taxis are inexpensive.

Orhan Ghazi Külliye is dominated by the Grand Mosque, whose interior is among the most variedly decorated of all that I have seen in Turkey and quite unusually places the shadirvan for ritual ablutions inside the mosque proper. The khans - commercial quarters that essentially retained their purpose through the ages - are basically nowadays the extensions of the Grand Bazaar that is also part of this neighborhood.

Orhan Ghazi tombs are a popular pilgrimage sight, boosted by the hourly changing-of-the-guards ceremony that attracts significant crowds. Green (Yesil) Mosque and Sultan Mehmed's mausoleum, also called Green, combine into another impressive complex; located a kilometer or so away from the center of town means that they attract significantly smaller visitor footfall. Yet further away from the city center lies Yildirim Külliye, whose mosque fairly uniquely sports a portico, with its own sultan's …

I visited this WHS in Spring 2021. I'm glad I had done some research where to safely park my rental car upon arrival as Bursa is a very busy city all year round. The Yesil Katli indoor parking was not only safe but extremely close to the Green Tomb so I was more than happy to park there.

All of Bursa's components (except Cumalikizik and maybe those in Cekirge) are best explored on foot. Although Bursa is a very busy urban city, even during a pandemic, there are whole pedestrian areas which felt like a modern Fez or Meknes bazaar area. Most of Bursa's highlights were free of charge when I visited. I started with the great Yesil Cami and Kulliye (social and religious complex) also known as the Green Mosque and Tomb (a tall turquoise structure with more turquoise and green tiling inside) built in 1421 for Sultan Mehmet I. Almost every location has a UNESCO marker next to it and there even is a whole "square" dedicated to Bursa's inscription on the WH list (Ian's photo). Next I headed towards the Yildirim Mosque which is part of the Bayezid Yildirim Kulliye and was completed in 1395. 

After that I focused on the Khans Area with the Orhan Ghazi Kulliye and Tombs as well as the splendid Ulu Mosque with its incredible Islamic calligraphy. This can be described as the heart of historic, cultural, architectural and religious Bursa, but also its commercial and social centre with the …

Together with Meteora, Bursa was the WHS I most looked forward to on my recent 2.5-week long trip through Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. And it certainly did not disappoint. I spent 2 nights in this city that has a very positive vibe; I actually walked all over the place for a day and a half as its WH locations are so scattered. It also has an impressive live call to prayer from the ‘competing’ mosques to wake up with ánd there are great food stalls.

My hotel in Bursa was just inside the Citadel, the ancient part of the city where the Byzantines had their center. When the Ottomans conquered the city in 1339 and set up a new civil and religious center, they did so away from these old city walls. From the Citadel though you have a good view of the Grand Mosque with its 20 domes and 2 minarets.

That Grand Mosque was also my first goal in the city. It was crowded with domestic visitors – both tourists and worshippers. This mosque has a very special layout: in the center, under a kind of atrium covered with a glass dome, is a large fountain for ablutions. Around it, there are niches to which believers can withdraw. The most striking features of this mosque though are the large texts on its walls - 192 prayers and slogans have been done in calligraphy by 41 artists.

The mosque is part of the Orhan Ghazi Kulliye, …

As a daytrip from Istanbul I made my way to Bursa. Bursa embedded in a lush green valley is a nice distraction from the tourist filled streets of Istanbul. It is also a more concise and homogeneous site as it focuses exclusively on the Osmanic heritage. Most notable to me where the Green Mosque and associated Mausoleum and the Khans (trading posts) found in the city center.

I would concur with Paul that Bursa is a worthwhile addition to the list and that the ICOMOS deferral due to paperwork issues seems unwarranted. All the while admitting that the site most certainly does not meet five criteria for inscription.

While You Are There

In addition to Ian in his review, my Turkish barber back home also told me to get Iskender Kebab in Bursa. I am not quite sure, though, if I picked the proper place as there were two Iskender restaurants just next to each other and I had to pick one. In addition there are even more "original" Iskender restaurants across town. It does seem they all belong to the same parent company, but who knows?

Getting There

As laid out by Ian Bursa is an easy and nice day trip from Istanbul. There are two ferry operators connecting Istanbul to Mudanya (Bursa): BUDO and IDO. I went with IDO as both Ian and another source I studied online recommended them. The IDO terminal was also within walking distance (25min) from my hotel.

As a general recommendation I …

Bursa became a very enjoyable but late addition to our long weekend in Istanbul, fortunately for us it had already been well covered by other reviewers, so we knew what to focus on in the city centre, especially thanks to Solivagant’s explanation of “Kullieye”, so I won’t expand much on their thorough rundowns.

We enjoyed walking around the central market area, and the central mosque was very welcoming and the trickling of the fountain under the glass dome inside gave a very tranquil feeling. Opposite it the Silk Khan showed some of the commercial heritage of the city.

The real highlight was the Yesil (Green) complex, the interior of the Green Mosque was very impressive. The deep blue tiles and muqarnas (honeycomb vaulting) gave the impression of a Persian interior, rather different to the Byzantine inspired mosques we had visited in Istanbul. Walking the short distance from the centre out to the Yesil complex we passed over a stream flowing down from the surrounding lush mountains and I understood why Bursa has such a strong pleasant reputation, even the air felt soft and comforting.

Now I have to admit there was another reason why I came to Bursa, not only was it to explore the ottoman heritage, and get another tick off the list, it was also a pilgrimage to the birthplace of one of my favourite meals, the İskender kebap. It has long been a favourite dish thanks to my residency in the heart of Turkish London, …

In 2014 ICOMOS requested that Turkey should “Revise the focus of the nomination” for Bursa, didn’t accept any of the 5 proposed criteria and recommended “deferral”. Facing a stroppy WHC, it was overruled and Bursa became the 8th site converted by the WHC that year from a “Deferral” recommendation to an “Inscription” – and on all the original nominated criteria! We were particularly interested to see what we would make of it all and had an afternoon/evening in which to do so!

Bursa city has a very positive reputation among Turks as a place to live. Known as “Green Bursa” it is set in a fertile valley and also has easy access to ski slopes and the sea. It is the fourth biggest city in Turkey with a population of around 1.8 million and is booming. It was perhaps unfortunate that it was the first WHS of our trip and we were still getting used to the car, the traffic and the culture/history of Turkey. Apart from a 3hr drive (!) across Istanbul the previous evening it was also the first major city we reached. I hadn’t yet got my “Sygic” map app working and also hadn’t yet come to terms with such matters as parking arrangements in Turkey :- You get somewhere close to the town centre, find a small scrap of land signed “Otopark”, pay the guardian around 5TL, give him the car key and let him shuffle all the cars entering and leaving this area to enable …

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 …