A day in Bursa: mosques, silk hans and Cumalıkızık

Bursa's ferry piers at Mudanya and Güzelyalı are on the south shore of the Sea of Marmara, about 30 km from the city. The historic centre and the village of Cumalıkızık were inscribed together as one UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. This route starts in the market district and ends in the village.

Getting there from Istanbul

Two operators cross the Sea of Marmara. İDO runs fast car ferries from Yenikapı in Istanbul to Güzelyalı, just east of Mudanya. BUDO runs sea buses from Eminönü and Sirkeci to Mudanya. The crossing takes about one and a half to two hours.

From the piers, yellow city buses run to Emek station, where the Bursaray metro continues to Şehreküstü in the centre. Allow about an hour for this leg, or take a taxi. Drivers can cross the Gulf of İzmit on the Osmangazi Bridge, opened in 2016, on the motorway from Gebze towards Bursa.

Morning: Ulu Cami and the bazaar

Start at Ulu Cami, the Grand Mosque. Sultan Bayezid I ordered it, and the architect Ali Neccar built it between 1396 and 1399. Twelve pillars carry 20 domes in four rows of five. Under the central dome, now glazed, stands a fountain for ritual washing. The walls hold 192 inscriptions by 41 Ottoman calligraphers.

The covered bazaar, Kapalıçarşı, starts next to the mosque. It grew around a bedesten built in the late 14th century as an endowment of Bayezid I, with hans and shop streets forming around it. The 1855 earthquake damaged the bazaar, and a fire in 1958 almost destroyed it. It was then restored.

Koza Han stands between Ulu Cami and the Orhan Gazi Mosque. Bayezid II ordered it in 1490, and it opened in 1491. It was a centre of the silk trade, and silk cocoons (koza) gave it its name. A small octagonal prayer room stands on eight pillars in the courtyard, above an ablution fountain. Today the han has silk shops, cafés and tea gardens, and many people come here for breakfast with tea.

Midday: the Green Mosque and Green Tomb

Take a taxi or bus to the Yeşil area in eastern Bursa. Work on the Green Mosque began in 1412 for Sultan Mehmed I, and its decoration was finished in 1424. The vizier Hacı İvaz Pasha led the work. The mosque is named after the green and blue tiles inside. An inscription credits them to masters from Tabriz.

Mehmed I's mausoleum, the Green Tomb, stands on a raised mound opposite the mosque. His son Murad II had it built, and it was finished in 1421. Most of the outer tiles were replaced with Kütahya tiles after the 1855 earthquake. Inside, the tiled mihrab shows roses, carnations and hyacinths. A short uphill walk leads to the tomb.

Afternoon: Cumalıkızık

Cumalıkızık is about 10 km east of the centre, at the foot of Uludağ. It was founded in the early Ottoman period as an endowment village. It has 270 protected buildings, and about 180 are still lived in. The houses have two or three storeys, timber frames and upper floors that overhang the street. Motor vehicles are not allowed inside the village. Many visitors come for breakfast or lunch.

If you return to Istanbul the same day, check the time of the last ferry in advance. Leave enough time to get from Cumalıkızık back to the centre and on to the pier.