Bursa

Bursa is a city in the Asian part of Marmara Region, Turkey.

Culture and History

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 with peach, chestnut, and silk industry, although lately the heavy industry located in the outskirts of the city surpassed these traditional industries. As it is first capital of the Ottoman Empire, it has a lot of historical places to see. Furthermore, Uludağ -one of the highest mountains in the Turkey- lies very close to Bursa and is the main winter sports center of Turkey.

Travel to Bursa - Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Bursa

An airport serving domestic flights can be found in Bursa (Yenişehir 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 Atatürk Airport
• Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport
• Ankara Esenboğa 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 [1].

By train

There is no railway in and around Bursa.

By car

Buses to Bursa

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

Take the ferries from Istanbul Yenikapı terminal (in the European part of Istanbul near Sultanahmet) to Yalova, then take a bus or a dolmuş to Bursa.

A fastest option is the new ferry between Istanbul and Bursa. It leaves from Yenikapı and actually anchors in Güzelyalı after 75 minutes (20 Lira). From there take the bus (2 Lira) which drives to a metro station in the suburbs of the city. The metro goes to downtown Bursa, get off at the last stop for the city centre (1.50 Lira). The whole journey from Istanbul to Bursa this way will take about 2,5 hours.

All of the ferries are operated by İDO [2].

Tours and Getting around Bursa

The city has a metro line connecting downtown with suburbs in the northwest.

Bursa tourist attractions and sightseeing

Mosques

• Ulucami, (in downtown), [3]. 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 Külliyesi (Orhan Mosque)
• Yeşil Camii(Green Mosquee)
• Muradiye Camii
• Hüdavendigar Camii
• Yıldırım Camii
• Koca Sinan Paşa
• İshak Paşa Külliyeleri
• Celal Bayar Müzesi

Tombs

• Yeşil Türbe(Green Tomb) is the tomb of the Çelebi Mehmed I (1412-1420).

Bursa city tours

Learn

Work

Bursa souvenirs and shopping

• Silk - one of the major industries of Bursa in the past, this is still one of the major draws of Bursa.

• Koza Han(Silk Bazaar), (in downtown, very near Ulucami), [4]. M-Sa 8AM-8PM. Silk bazaar dating back to 1491. Think of a very historical mall devoted only to silk. 

Bursa Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Try the İskender kebap, a dish originated from Bursa. İskender consists of roasted, sliced lamb spread atop diced bread pieces, topped with tomato sauce, served with yoghurt.

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge

Bursa nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Bursa cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

Budget

• Cesmeli Hotel, Gümüşçeken Cad. 6, ☎ +90 224 224 15 11 - 12. Old and not very clean. Not good value for money.€ 25/person with breakfast included.  

Mid-range

Contact

The telephone code of the city is (+90) 224.

Stay safe

Cope

Get out

Other sites and places near the city include

• Uludağ Milli Parkı(Uludag National Park)
• Çekirge
• Oylat (Turkish Baths)
• Gemlik Kaplıcaları(Turkish Baths)
• Kumla(Beach)
• Kurşunlu Plajları(Beach)
• Prusa Kenti Surları(City Wall)
• Nikaia (İznik)
• Miletopolis (Karacabey)
• Mirlea (Mudanya)
• Kirmastı (Mustafa Kemal Paşa)
• Atranos (Orhaneli)
• Neopolis (Yenişehir)
• Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia), Koimesis, Hagios Kiliseleri (Churches)
• Nikaia Nekropolü,
• Yıldırım Bedesteni (Yildirim Bazaar)
• Bursa Arkeoloji Müzesi (Bursa Archelogy Museum)
• Bursa Atatürk Müzesi (Bursa Atatürk Museum)
• Bursa Türk İslam Eserleri Müzesi (Bursa Turk Islamic Works Museum)
• Mudanya Mütareke Müzesi (Mudanya Armistice Museum)
• İznik Müzesi (Iznik Museum)
• Armutlu

This page was last edited by Wikitravel user Vidimian. Based on work by David, Evan Prodromou, Rasim Kılıç, marti, Bunyamin VICIL and Tim Sandell, Wikitravel user(s) Episteme, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license