Bursa & Uludağ: the back story

About Bursa & Uludağ: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Istanbul Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Bursa became the first great capital of the Ottomans after its capture in 1326, and the early sultans filled it with mosques, tombs and markets. Behind it rises Uludağ, Türkiye’s best-known ski mountain, reached by a long gondola from the city.

The first capital

The Ottomans took Bursa in 1326 and made it their capital. The early sultans built in a calm, harmonious style that later Istanbul would grow from: the Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami) with its twenty domes and a fountain inside, the Green Mosque and the turquoise-tiled Green Tomb, and the market district of hans around the bazaar. Together with the village of Cumalıkızık, they are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Silk and the hans

Bursa grew rich on silk. The Koza Han, built in 1491, is still the place for silk scarves and cocoons, with a little mosque on pillars in its courtyard and tea under the trees.

Bursa and Cumalıkızık were inscribed together on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014 as the birth of the Ottoman Empire.

Uludağ

The gondola climbs about 9 km from the city to the hotel area of Uludağ in around 22 minutes, with views back over the plain. In winter the mountain is Türkiye’s classic ski resort; in summer it is cool, green walking country.

İskender

Bursa gave the world the İskender kebab, credited to İskender Efendi in the 19th century: döner sliced over bread with tomato sauce, yoghurt and sizzling butter. Finish with kestane şekeri, the candied chestnuts of Bursa.

Our advice: stay a night: spend one day in the old city and the hans, the next on the mountain, and eat İskender at least once.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Bursa & Uludağ: the back story before you go.