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The historic city center of Bursa contains several points of interest outside the Grand Mosque and bazaars. I’ll go into detail on many of them in this post, covering the area between Bursa Castle and the Green Mosque.
Gazi Orhan Park
A good place to start exploring the historic city center of Bursa is Gazi Orhan Park (Gazi Orhan Parkı), which is also known as Koza Park (Koza Parkı). It’s a beautiful open space with a large fountain and benches.
On the north side of the park is Koza Han, which is part of the city’s network of hans and bazaars. On the west side is the Grand Mosque, the largest and most historic mosque in Bursa.
Orhan Gazi Mosque
On the northeast side of the park is the Orhan Gazi Mosque (Orhan Gazi Camii), which is the first structure built outside the walls of Bursa Castle after the conquest of Bursa in 1326. It was originally built by Sultan Orhan and completed in 1339. The mosque was destroyed by a Karamanid raid in 1413 and repaired by Sultan Mehmed I in 1417. It also had to be repaired after an earthquake in 1855.
The Orhan Gazi Mosque was built on a reverse T plan and included guesthouses for travelers. According to local legend, famous Turkish shadow puppets Hacivat and Karagöz were actual craftsmen who helped build the mosque. The mosque is included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Bursa. Click here for a virtual tour.
Bursa City Hall
The building next to the Orhan Gazi Mosque is the historic Bursa City Hall (Bursa Belediye Binası). It was built in 1879 and is a great example of late Ottoman architecture. Unfortunately, the architect is unknown. The building is still used for city council meetings. Click here for a virtual tour.
Karaşeyh Mosque
Continuing east down Atatürk Avenue (Atatürk Caddesi) is a smaller mosque a bit hidden from the road. The Karaşeyh Mosque (Karaşeyh Camii) was built in the 16th century and used as a library in the 1950s.
Atatürk Monument
Another block down Atatürk Avenue is the Atatürk Monument (Atatürk Anıtı). It’s dedicated to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), the founder of the Turkish Republic. The monument was made by local sculptor Nijat Sirel (1897-1959) and was unveiled on October 29, 1931. It consists of a bronze statue of Atatürk sitting on a horse and the pedestal is made of marble.
Bursa Tax Administration
The Atatürk Monument sits in front of two historic government buildings. First, to the east is the Bursa Tax Administration building (Bursa Vergi Dairesi Başkanlığı). It was designed by architect Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi and completed in the 1920s.
Bursa City Museum
The same architect also designed the former Bursa Courthouse (Bursa Adliyesi), which sits opposite the Bursa Tax Administration building. It was originally completed in 1926 and now hosts the Bursa City Museum (Bursa Kent Müzesi). The building functioned as a courthouse for 75 years.
The excellent museum, which opened on February 14, 2004, gives an insight on the history of and life in the city of Bursa. It’s open daily except Mondays and admission is free (as of September 2024). Unfortunately for non-Turkish speakers, all displays are in Turkish. The exhibitions are spread out over three floors.
City of Civilizations
The best place to start is on the ground floor, where there are two galleries. The first gallery is titled Bursa: City of Civilizations (Uygarlıklar Kenti Bursa). It chronicles the history of the city from ancient times through Ottoman conquest and Turkish independence. It starts with a section on ancient history, with its beginnings as Prusa, and information about its Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine past.
The exhibit contains thorough information about the Ottoman sultans who contributed greatly to Bursa, especially with their mosque complexes. In all, six Ottoman sultans are profiled.
The last sections include information about migration to the city as well as the liberation of Bursa from Greek forces on September 11, 1922, during the Turkish War of Independence. There are plenty of photographs and artifacts on display.
Contemporary Bursa
The second gallery on the ground floor is titled Contemporary Bursa (Çağdaş Bursa). It describes the phases of development the city has gone through since the Republican period. There are displays on the city’s government, demographics, transportation, architecture, and even a model of the city.
Bursa with Life and Culture
On the first floor is the exhibit titled Bursa with Life and Culture (Yaşam ve Kültürüyle Bursa). It displays the traditions and customs of the city, including some that have been forgotten. Traditional clothing and items used in everyday life are featured.
Some of the topics in the exhibit are hamam culture, the Karagöz and Hacivat shadow puppets, sports, and Bursa’s ski culture.
Producing Bursa
The basement has three sections. The first is Producing Bursa (Üreten Bursa), which is in the main hall. It exhibits some of the items manufactured and produced in the city, including cola, cars, and equipment.
Handicraft Bazaar
The Handicraft Bazaar (El Sanatları Çarşısı) recreates traditional shops once found in Bursa, such as a fabric shop, blacksmith, cobbler, knife maker, and more.
A candy shop as well as a mannequin representing İskender Efendi, the inventor of the famous İskender kebab, are at the end of the exhibit.
Silk City Bursa
The final section in the basement focuses on Bursa’s history of silk production. Silk City Bursa (İpek Kenti Bursa) includes interpretive panels about the silk production process as well as historic local products made of silk. I was especially interested in the products with Greek names on them, which show the multicultural past of the city.
Clock Tower
At the intersection across from the statue, there’s a small clock tower. It was built in 2007 by local artist Merih Ercan to replace an older clock tower built in 1992.
Bursa Knife Museum (Permanently Closed)
Detouring south into the neighborhood is the Bursa Knife Museum (Bursa Bıçak Müzesi). We popped in and were pleasantly surprised. (Note: the museum is permanently closed and apparently the collection has moved to the Bursa City Museum. The building has since been converted to a cultural center.)
The Bursa Knife Museum is open daily except Mondays and admission is free. It’s about a block south of the Bursa City Museum. Unfortunately, everything is in Turkish, but the artwork on the handles and blades doesn’t need translation.
Main Building
We entered the museum where the staff greeted us and led us to the first galleries. There were exhibits on the history of knife and dagger production in Bursa as well as a few fine examples. The city is apparently one of the most important for this craft in Turkey.
That would have been enough for us, and as we said thanks to the staff, they informed us there was another building in back.
Courtyard
We walked around the main building and up some stairs to a small courtyard where another staff member, a very nice woman originally from Bosnia, chatted with us for a few minutes. She also pointed out some artwork in the courtyard before leading us to the second building.
Second Building
In the second building, it was knife overload. There were several rooms with photos and knives on exhibit. There were even glass panels on the floor with knives in them.
One room contained swords, and there were a couple replica knife maker’s shops. They came complete with mannequins making knives, and of course several different examples of knives.
My favorite knives on display included a set with the Green Tomb etched onto the blade; a pair with Karagöz and Hacivat handles; a set of börek knives with Bursa-themed blades; and a charcuterie set with tulips etched on the blades.
Our Thoughts on the Bursa Knife Museum
Overall, we enjoyed the 20 minutes we spend walking through the Bursa Knife Museum. Is it a must-see? Definitely not, but it’s something unique to Bursa and you can’t beat “free”.
French Church
A couple blocks further south through the historic city center of Bursa, you’ll find the French Church. It was built in the 19th century by the Sisters of Charity (Filles de la Charité) to serve French tradespeople living in the city. The cornerstone was laid on December 14, 1879, and it was completed on August 11, 1880.
The interior of the church was decorated in 1927 by Father Prosper Lamerand and a Russian artist. It was abandoned 1960 and briefly opened for worship again in 1971. The building was restored in 2004 and is used by the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox communities for worship. The French Church is the only traditional church building remaining in Bursa today.
The church is open to visitors every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 1pm to 6pm (as of September 2023). The Bursa Protestant Church worships there every Sunday at 12:30pm.
Setbaşı Bridge
Back to the clock tower, continue east down Atatürk Avenue (Atatürk Caddesi) from the heart of the historic city center of Bursa. You’ll come to the Setbaşı Bridge (Setbaşı Köprüsü). As you cross the bridge, look north. You’ll be able to see the scenic Irgandı Bridge crossing over Gökdere Creek. I’ll get to the bridge in a bit.
City Library
On the east side of the bridge is the City Library (Şehir Kütüphanesi). It’s housed in an attractive Ottoman-style building built by Mayor Reşat Oyal in the 1950s as a marriage office. The building was converted to a library in 1998 by Mayor Erdem Saker.
Kılıç Kalkan House Museum
Just below the City Library is the Kılıç Kalkan House Museum (Kılıç Kalkan Evi Müzesi). It pays homage to the historic sword-shield game (kılıç kalkan oyunu), which dates back to the Ottoman conquest of Bursa in 1326. The museum opened in 2012. Admission is free (as of June 2024) and it’s open daily except Mondays.
While the castle was under siege, Ottoman soldiers began playing a game with their swords and shields in groups of two and four. The game was meant to break the morale of the Byzantine soldiers defending the castle and to break the monotony and raise the morale of the Ottoman soldiers. The city fell to the Ottomans on April 6, 1326, and the game has become a folk dance performed at special events in the city.
A monument to the game sits just outside the building, which is adorned with swords and shields as well as images of the game.
Armenian Church
If you take a quick detour further east down Namazgah Avenue, there’s an alley with a few outdoor cafés. On that alley is a crumbling building that once served as an Armenian church. It was built in the 19th century and was used as a weaving mill after the Armenians left Bursa.
Irgandı Bridge
The aforementioned Irgandı Bridge (Irgandı Köprüsü) spans Gökdere Creek in the historic city center of Bursa. It was built in 1442 by Müslihiddin, a wealthy Ottoman merchant, and the architect was probably Mimar Timurtaş. Ottoman authorities would monitor movement between the city center and the Yeşil neighborhood by closing the bridge to traffic at night.
During the Turkish War of Independence, the bridge was bombed by the retreating Greek army in 1922. It was reconstructed in 1949. The bridge has a single arch that spans 16 meters (52 feet), and is 11 meters (36 feet) wide.
The Irgandı Bridge is the only bridge in Turkey with buildings and shops on top. On both sides of the bridge, you can find craft and souvenir shops as well as cafés serving Turkish specialties. The original design had 30 shops.
Boyacıkulluğu Bridge
A bit further downstream is another Ottoman bridge. The Boyacıkulluğu Bridge (Boyacıkulluğu Köprüsü) was built in 1530 by Boyacıkulu Hoca Sinan, an Ottoman merchant. It was repaired in 1844 and two more arches were added in 1997.
Kayhan Hamam
Walking west from the bridge into the neighborhood, you’ll run into the Kayhan Hamam (Kayhan Hamamı). It’s a public bath built in the early 15th century by Koca Mehmed Nizamüddin Pasha (d. 1439), a Grand Vizier under Sultan Murad II. Its purpose was to provide income for a mosque he had built. The hamam was a double bath with both a men’s and women’s section. It was restored in 2013 and is now used as a social facility.
Tomb of Gazi Timurtaş Pasha
All the way back west through the historic city center of Bursa is the tomb of Gazi Timurtaş Pasha (d. 1402). You can’t miss it while walking along Atatürk Avenue towards Bursa Castle. He participated with the Ottomans in the war against Karamanoğlu Ali Bey in 1386 as the Ottomans rose in power against the Karamanids. When Sultan Bayezid I ascended to the throne, he was appointed governor of Edirne. During the Ottoman Interregnum, Gazi Timurtaş Pasha supported İsa Çelebi, who lost the 11-year war to Sultan Mehmed I, and was assassinated by a close contact. There are a total of three burials in the tomb.
Eskici Mehmed Dede Soup Kitchen
Heading south, outside the castle walls a short walk south of the Yerkapı Gate is the Eskici Mehmed Dede Soup Kitchen (Eskici Mehmed Dede Aşevi). It’s named after the tomb of Eskici Mehmed Dede, which sits nearby. Neither the date of construction nor the sponsor of the soup kitchen are known. Both the soup kitchen and tomb were restored in 2008.
Bursa Life Culture Museum
A couple blocks south of the Eskici Mehmed Dede Soup Kitchen, hidden on a quiet residential street, is the Bursa Life Culture Museum (Bursa Yaşam Kültürü Müzesi). It’s an ethnographic museum housed in the Hasan Eşref Efendi Mansion (Hasan Eşref Efendi Konağı).
The mansion was built in the 18th century by the ancestors of Hasan Eşref Efendi (d. 1927), who owned leather tanneries in Bursa. The last member of the family to live in the house was his daughter Hacer, who died in 1986. The city of Bursa acquired the mansion, restored it, and opened the Bursa Life Culture Museum in 2018.
Visiting the Bursa Life Culture Museum
The Bursa Life Culture Museum is open daily except Mondays and admission is free (as of June 2024). The purpose of the museum is to display forgotten customs of traditional life in Bursa. It presents scenes of traditional life as well as different objects used in the past.
While the presentation is beautiful, the museum isn’t really worth going out of your way for unless you want to see how an Ottoman mansion would have been decorated. We also had a security guard follow us the entire time which was kind of creepy to be honest. Our visit lasted about 10 minutes.
First Floor
On the first floor of the museum, there’s a central lounge opening to four different rooms. The kitchen displays traditional items used for cooking meals and serving Turkish coffee and tea. Another is a living room where families would spend time together.
The circumcision room includes clothing and textiles used in a traditional circumcision. The fourth room includes handmade towels and embroideries. A small bathroom displayed items used in Turkish hamams.
Second Floor
The second floor also has a central lounge opening to four rooms. The first room is a small sitting room and the second depicts a woman at a sewing machine making clothing.
Another room is a bedroom with different bedding items and homemade dresses. There’s also a hand-carved wooden cradle.
Osman I Monument
Finally, on the northwest corner of the historic city center of Bursa is a monument to Sultan Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. It sits in the middle of a roundabout at Democracy Square (Demokrasi Meydanı), which is located near the Şehreküstü metro station.
Walking north from there, it’s a straight shot into the modern city center down Fevzi Çakmak Avenue (Fevzi Çakmak Caddesi). It’s a wide thoroughfare with trees in the median and large modern buildings along both sides.
