'''Bursa''' is a city in the Asian part of Marmara Region, Turkey.
Understand
Bursa lies in the northwestern part of Turkey near the sea of Marmara. The city was the first ever capital of the Ottoman Empire. It's the fourth largest city of Turkey after Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. It is famous for its peach, chestnut and silk industries, although lately, heavy industry located in the outskirts of the city, have surpassed these traditional industries. As it was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, it has a lot of historical places to see. Furthermore, Uluda? -one of the highest mountains in the Turkey - lies very close to Bursa and is the main winter sports center of Turkey.
Get in
By plane
An airport serving domestic flights can be found in Bursa ('''Yeni?ehir''' Airport, IATA: '''YEI''', ICAO: '''LTBR'''). However, in order to get to Bursa from another country by plane, you will have to take a transit flight via one of Turkey's international airports. In most cases, you will probably be arriving to Bursa from the following airports:
Istanbul Ataturk Airport
Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport
Ankara Esenbo?a International Airport
Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport
There are other international airports in Turkey, but these happen to be the biggest.
There are also flights from Antalya, Diyarbakir, Erzurum, Izmir, and Trabzon provided by '''SunExpress''' [http://www.sunexpress.com.tr/].
By train
There is no railway in and around Bursa.
By car
By bus
Buses from Istanbul take about 3 hours and cost about 10 euros.
There are bus services from all major cities to Bursa such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya. Prices vary from 10 to 50 Euros based on the distance.
By boat
This is the fastest option from Istanbul:
Take the Yenikap?-Bursa ferry from Istanbul Yenikap? terminal (in the European part of Istanbul near Sultanahmet) to Guzelyal? (80 minutes - 20 Lira).
Guzelyal? is about 20km from Bursa so buses meet the ferry to take passengers to Organize Sanayi metro station (30mins - 3 Lira) in the outer suburbs of the city.
Take the metro to downtown Bursa - get off at ?ehre Kustu station for the old section of the city close to the market area (30mins - 2 Lira). The whole journey from Istanbul to the centre of Bursa will take about 2.5 to 3 hours.
All of the ferries are operated by '''?DO''' [http://www.ido.com.tr/en/index.cfm]. Tickets can be booked online.
Get around
The city has a metro line connecting downtown with suburbs in the northwest. There is also an extensive bus and dolmu? network. The dolmu?es in Bursa are more likely to be a normal looking white car with a sign on the roof rather than the yellow minibuses that are common in Istanbul.
The Bursa Metro is called Bursaray - for information in Turkish: [http://www.bursaray.com.tr Bursaray] and a [http://www.bursaray.com.tr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72 map]
See
Mosques
Ulucami. n downtown. ttp://www.bursaulucamii.com/. The "great mosque" of Bursa. Built in early Ottoman period, in 1399, it resembles more of earlier ''Seljuq'' buildings of inland Anatolia than the typical Ottoman mosques such as Blue Mosque of Istanbul built later.
'''Orhan Camii ve Kulliyesi''' (Orhan Mosque)
'''Ye?il Camii'''(Green Mosquee)
'''Muradiye Camii'''
'''Hudavendigar Camii'''
'''Y?ld?r?m Camii'''
'''Koca Sinan Pa?a'''
'''?shak Pa?a Kulliyeleri'''
'''Celal Bayar Muzesi '''
Tombs
'''Ye?il Turbe'''(Green Tomb) is the tomb of the Celebi Mehmed I (1412-1420).
Do
Learn
Work
Buy
'''Silk''' - one of the major industries of Bursa in the past, this is still one of the major draws of Bursa.
Koza Han. ilk Bazaar. n downtown, very near Ulucami. ttp://www.kozahan.org/. -Sa 8AM-8PM. Silk bazaar dating back to 1491. Think of a very historical mall devoted only to silk.
Eat
Try the '''?skender kebap''', a dish originated from Bursa. ?skender consists of roasted, sliced lamb spread atop diced bread pieces, topped with tomato sauce, served with yoghurt.A similar dish, meatballs instead of sliced lamb only, would be '''Pideli Kofte''' which is definetely cheaper and perhaps more delicious.Go to Kayhan Carsisi, very close to Heykel, for best options.
Budget
Mid-range
Splurge
Drink
Sleep
Budget
Cesmeli Hotel. umu?ceken Cad. 6. 90 224 224 15 11 - 12. 25/person with breakfast included. Old and not very clean. Not good value for money.
Mid-range
Safran Otel. rtapazar Cadessi, Arka Sok, 4. ust inside Sultanat Kapi (old city wall gates). 24-7216. 40TL double with breakfast. Very nice small hotel in a recently renovated old house close to the centre of town. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Rooms on the ground floor tend to be a little noisy.
Note that Googlemaps has this hotel listed twice with one incorrect location. The correct location is just inside the city gate closest to the covered markets.
safranhotel@mynet.com
</sleep>
Contact
The telephone code of the city is (+90) '''224'''.
Stay safe
Cope
Get out
Other sites and places near the city include
'''Uluda? Milli Park?'''(Uludag National Park)
'''Cekirge'''
'''Oylat''' (Turkish Baths)
'''Gemlik Kapl?calar?'''(Turkish Baths)
'''Kumla'''(Beach)
'''Kur?unlu Plajlar?'''(Beach)
'''Prusa Kenti Surlar?'''(City Wall)
'''Miletopolis''' (Karacabey)
'''Mirlea''' (Mudanya)
'''Kirmast?''' (Mustafa Kemal Pa?a)
'''Atranos''' (Orhaneli)
'''Neopolis''' (Yeni?ehir)
'''Ayasofya''' (Hagia Sofia), '''Koimesis''', '''Hagios''' Kiliseleri (Churches)
'''Nikaia Nekropolu''',
'''Y?ld?r?m Bedesteni''' (Yildirim Bazaar)
'''Bursa Arkeoloji Muzesi (Bursa Archelogy Museum)
'''Bursa Ataturk Muzesi''' (Bursa Ataturk Museum)
'''Bursa Turk ?slam Eserleri Muzesi''' (Bursa Turk Islamic Works Museum)
'''Mudanya Mutareke Muzesi''' (Mudanya Armistice Museum)
Armutlu
Iznik (Nicaea/Nikaia)