Bursa Travel Guide

Introduction

Bursa established itself as an important center as far back as pre-Roman times, attracting emperors and rulers for its rich, fertile soil and healing thermal waters. The arrival of the Ottomans in 1326 ensured the city's prosperity as a cultural and economic center that now represents one of the richest legacies of early Ottoman art and architecture. As the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, Bursa became the beneficiary of the finest mosques, theological schools (medreses), humanitarian centers (imarets), and social services ( hans, hamams, and public fountains). The density of arched portals, undulating domes, artfully tiled minarets, and magnificently carved minbars (pulpits) could easily provide the coursework for extensive study of the Ottomans, and without a doubt, fill multiple daylong walking tours.

Today Bursa is a thriving industrial and agricultural center, renowned for its fine silk and cotton textiles, and the center of Turkey's automobile industry. The nearby...