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The Bursa Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts (Bursa Türk İslam Eserleri Müzesi) is an excellent museum in the Yeşil neighborhood of Bursa, Turkey.
Visiting the Bursa Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
The Bursa Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts is open daily. Admission is 100₺ (as of August 2023). The museum is very well organized and all information is in both Turkish and English.
Green Madrasa
The museum is housed in the Green Madrasa, which was built in 1419 and belongs to the Green Mosque complex. The building is included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Bursa. Famous Ottoman scholars such as Mehmed Şah Fenari, Alaeddin Tusi, Molla Yegan, and Molla Hüsrev (d. 1480) all worked at the madrasa.
On April 8, 1930, the Green Madrasa reopened as the Bursa Archaeological Museum, which moved there from the Bursa High School for Boys (Bursa İdadi-i Mülkîsi). The collection included both archaeological artifacts as well as Islamic and ethnographic arts. In 1972, the archaeological collection moved to a new building for the Bursa Archaeological Museum at Reşat Oyal Culture Park.
The Islamic and ethnographic arts collection was reorganized and remained in the Green Madrasa. It reopened as the Bursa Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts on November 22, 1975. The building has continued to host the museum since then, and underwent a major restoration in the 2010s.
Courtyard of the Green Madrasa
The museum’s entrance opens up to the courtyard of the madrasa. It’s surrounded by a vaulted portico on three sides and a large domed classroom opposite the entrance. A small fountain sits in the center.
Architecture of the Green Madrasa
The path through museum follows a counterclockwise direction, starting in the first room to the right of the entrance. It includes information on the architecture of the Green Madrasa, with a scale model of the building and its location in relation to the Green Mosque and Green Tomb.
There were 13 student cells, a teacher’s room, and toilets. The portico sits on arches supported by columns recycled from Byzantine and Roman buildings.
Wood Art
The second room contains wood art, with many pieces containing inlaid mother-of-pearl. They include lecterns, chests, cradles, and tables.
Dervish Lodge Items
Turning the corner are rooms three and four, which focus on items used in dervish lodges. On display are artifacts such as turbans and drums.
Weapons
The fifth room contains a collection of weapons and armor. Swords and sheaths, rifles, clubs, daggers, and other weapons are on display. One item that stood out was an Ottoman helmet and chainmail.
Coins
The sixth room displays Islamic coins. They date from the Umayyad period to the Ottoman period. The information explains how Islamic coins differed from Byzantine and Roman coins by including calligraphy rather than faces. It also goes over the different materials used to mint coins
Calligraphy
In the seventh room, which is the final room on this side of the courtyard, are calligraphic arts. The tools used to make them, including brushes, scissors, and ink wells, sit in a display case in the center of the room.
Traditional Dress and Jewelry
The large domed classroom of the Green Madrasa hosts traditional Ottoman dress and jewelry. Of particular interest is a velvet door curtain that once adorned the entrance to the Green Tomb. It dates back to the 19th century.
Hamam Culture
Continuing along to the next side of the courtyard, the ninth room focuses on hamam culture. On display are towels, wooden clogs, bowls, and a marble wash basin, among other items.
Coffee Culture
The tenth room covers Turkish coffee culture. Coffee houses were important meeting places during the Ottoman era. Turkish coffee cups and cup holders, as well as coffee pots and kettles, make up most of the exhibit.
Metal and Glass Art
The 11th room, which was closed, features Islamic calligraphy. I continued to the 12th room to see metal and glass art. It includes sherbet glasses and jugs, copper trays and candlesticks, incense burners, and rose water dispensers.
Ceramics
Next is the 13th room. It’s filled with beautiful ceramic works from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. Vases, bowls, pitchers, and other items fill the display cases.
Shadow Puppets
The 14th and final room features shadow puppets, which are a cultural symbol of Bursa. Traditional Turkish shadow puppets originated in the city, and the main characters are Karagöz and Hacivat. Karagöz is the vulgar and unintelligent character while Hacivat is more level-headed and logical.
It isn’t clear when or why the puppets were actually created, but they may have been real people. According to legend, Karagöz and Hacivat were construction workers on the Orhan Gazi Mosque project in Bursa. They were always arguing and distracting the other workers, in turn slowing down the construction process.
A local official became angry with them and had them both executed. They other workers loved them for their comic relief, so they created the puppets to pay tribute to their memory.
