My final stop: Bursa. One of the capitals of the Ottoman Empire, Bursa is the fourth largest city in Turkey with a population over 2.5 million. The city is also home to the defending champions of the Turkish soccer league. This was an incredible feat by Bursaspor, the soccer team, as they were the first non big four team to win the championship in the league’s 51 year history. The city flaunts the teams green and white colors throughout the city, and miniature models of the new soccer stadium that is going to be built in the shape of the team’s official mascot: an alligator. Bursa is known as the city of Islamic saints. There are nearly a 100 of these saints in Bursa’s history, and is a common pilgrimage stop amongst Turks. Other religious sites to see are the Ulu and Yesil Mosques. The Ulu mosque was built in 1399 and can accomdate a few thousand people to pray. The interior has gorgeous Arabic calligraphy decorating the walls, and a fountain in the middle of it which can be drunk from as holy water. The Yesil, green in Turkish, mosque was a gorgeous mosque with an interior color that apparently cannot be produced anymore. This note was apparent by the stark contrast of the shade of green of the original mosaic tiles from the newer tiles that replaced broken ones. I would claim that the Yesil mosque was by far the most colorful mosque I visited out of all the mosques on my trip. Another must see site in Bursa is its old market that houses various ancient hans. Hans were safe houses for those traveling on the silk road, and some of the hans that can be found in the old market now have various silk shops, one of the particularly popular productions of Bursa. After enjoying a drink in a han, I traveled upward to the tombs of the first and second sultans of the Ottoman empire. Perched on the top of large hill, these tombs attract a lot of local tourists that come to pay their respects to the founders of the Ottomans. Alongside these tombs you can also find the castle and its defending walls that were used while Bursa was the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and panoramic views of the entire city.
I was then taken to my first Turkish bath experience, and what an experience that turned out to be. Bursa is one of the famous cities for Turkish baths and the one I particularly went to was quite clean. It is not an experience that I recommend any of you go through by yourself, especially if it is your first time, like it was mine. I purchased a bath and massage option where they scrub away your entire life’s dirt and then give you an aggressive massage. Prior to this, you change from your clothes into your towel, which I quickly understood would be better if I had something underneath to wear. Then you sit in the sauna portion of the bath and sit there so that you can produce sweat which makes your cleanup easier and more effective. A Greco-Roman wrestler like figure called for me and scrubbed me in such way that once I left the bath, I felt as if the wind outside was flowing right through me. The massage itself was interesting primarily because I believe it is a miracle that my entire spinal cord is still intact. I would like to experience a Turkish bath once again, but with people that I know so that it isn’t nearly as awkward for me as it was during my first experience. The food was of course great and highly recommended as it home to one of the primary dishes of Turkish history, Iskender. Gyro beef placed on think pida bread, and the topped with tomato sauce and yogurt is a delicious dish and one of my favorites. It is the melted butter that they apply at the very end that I think gives it that strong taste. I also recommend traveling to some of the sea side neighborhoods of Bursa like Mudanya which has various gorgeous looking Ottoman homes and great places to eat.
Geldik son gezicegim sehire: Bursa. Ulkenin dorduncu en buyuk sehir, Bursa evliyalar sehiri diye biliniyor. Yaklasik 100 tane evliya tarihinde bulundurmus olan Bursa, bir kutsal havasi sezdiriyor. Ulu ve Yesil camilerinin guzellig gormeye deger. Ulu Camii’nin Arapca duvarindaki yazilari, ve Yesil Camii’nin tekrardan canlandirilamayan yesil rengi gorulemeye deger. Carsinin cevresindeki kervansaraylarin birtanesinde cay icmeye de deger. Osmangazi ve Orhangazi’nin turbelerin onunde saygi durusunda bulunmakta cok tuhaf bir duyguydu gercekten. Bir kocaman tepenin basinda, bir muazzam imparatorlugun kurulusun onunde durmak herkeze nasip olmali diye dusunuyorum, ve Turkiye sinirlarinda bu ancak Bursa’da mumkun. Oradan ciktiktan sonra 50 adim ilerisinde ise Bursa var ayaklarin altinda. Manzarada birtek sanayilesmis bir sehir goruluyor, ve bu manzaranin karsisinda insan biraz da olsa yesillik gormek istiyor. Umut ederim ki, Bursa belediyesi sehire yakisan buyuklugunde bir park kurmayi dusunur ilerde.
Tabii, Bursa’ya gidip de insane bir hamama girmezmi? Vallahi ben hayatimda ilk defa girdim. Gayet temiz ve geriye baktigimda keyifli bir 60 dakika gecirdim. Ama hamam icin iki gercek oldugunu farkettim. Hamama tek basina ve mayosuz gidilmez. Hamamin gercek keyfi ancak dostlarla cikarabilirsin. Bide pehlivan keseciler ne kadar ustaca olsa da, kendini korumak icin mayo sart goruyorum J. Sonucta kendimi bir an bile tehlikede hissetmedim, ama mesaj esnasinda, derin nefes alma anlarim oldu. Yani, daha rahat etme acisindan bir slip mayo giymek mantikli diye dusunuyorum. Ama gercekten cok rahat bir ortam, ve sanirim bu da sectigin hamamina bagli. Ben Kervansaray’da girdim, ve gayet memlun kaldim sonunda. Bursa’nin iskenderine gecer not vermeden olmaz.The first photo is a view of Bursa from above. The second photo is of the market place. The third and fourth photos are from the Ulu Mosque. The fifth and sixth photos are from the Yesil Mosque. The seventh photo is of the tomb of Osman, the first sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The eigth photo is of the tomb of Osman's son, Orhan, the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The final photo is a view of the resting room at the Turkish bath
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