Day 5 - Blogabond

I woke up early and Mark was still asleep, so I snuck out to survey Bursa on my own. I spent a few hours wandering through the market area, watching the shop-keepers set up their stalls of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and flowers -- a bounty like I've never seen before. (Apparently, Turkey is one of only three or four countries that actually exports food). Eventually, I found my way to the main mosque, Ulu Camii, and the bazaar, where I picked up some camel-hide shadow puppets -- a well-known local art form. I then returned to the hotel for Mark and returned once again to the bazaar for his wandering pleasure.

From the center of town we went to Uludag, a suburb of Bursa, and took the cable car up to the top of the local Mt. Olympus. Although it was June, there was plenty of snow to be seen among the grassy valleys and pine-tree covered peaks. At the top of the cable car were several small outdoor eateries featuring mostly lamb kabobs grilled tableside. Mark and I selected one for lunch and then took a short hike through the woods before catching the last cable car back into town.
Mark then went back to the bazaar (practicing his "Kash pura?" all the way) while I checked out two more mosques. By this time I was, of course, about as mosqued-out as possible, but the small Green Mosque was definitely worth seeing for the tile work alone, as was the Green Mausoleum nearby which houses the tomb of Mehmet I and his children.

written by

shoshtrvls on June 6, 1996 from Bursa, Turkey

from the travel blog: Turkey and Greece (1996)

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