Bursa

Bursa lies 155 kilometres south of Istanbul across the Sea of Marmara, and is most enjoyably reached via the fast ferry from Yenikapı terminal to Mudanya port — a crossing of approximately 1.5 hours followed by a 40-minute city bus into the centre. Buses from Istanbul Büyük Otogar take around 3 hours via the E80 motorway; drivers can cross by ferry at Yalova. Bursa served as the first Ottoman capital from 1326 and its old city preserves an exceptional density of early Ottoman monuments. The Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami) anchors the lower city with its 20 domes and an unusual interior ablution fountain installed within the prayer hall. Uphill, the Green Mosque (Yeşil Cami) and Green Tomb (Yeşil Türbe) are sheathed in luminous turquoise Iznik tiles from the early 15th century, among the finest decorative ceramic work anywhere in Turkey. The adjacent Silk Bazaar (Koza Han), built in 1491, still trades in silk goods around a courtyard with a small mosque and central fountain; it is best visited in the morning when traders are active and light falls across the stone arcades. Midday is well spent taking the cable car (teleferik) from Teferrüç up to the Uludağ plateau for panoramic views over the city and its green foothills. Cumalıkızık, a 700-year-old Ottoman village 12 kilometres east of the city, offers cobblestone lanes and timber-framed houses largely unchanged since the 14th century and is quietest before 11am. İskender kebab — thinly sliced döner over pide bread, doused in tomato sauce and browned butter — was invented in Bursa in 1867 and is best sampled at İskenderoğlu on Atatürk Caddesi; budget around 300–400 TL per person. The citadel quarter (Hisar), north of the mosque, provides old Ottoman walls and valley viewpoints for a late afternoon walk before the evening ferry back to Istanbul.