Day 3- Bursa

Another day, another beautiful Turkish city! Today it was Bursa, the original capital city of the Ottoman Empire (beginning in 1453 and ending soon after the first World War). As I did yesterday, I'll put up the pictures first, then go back and caption them all, letting everyone know how our day went!

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This bridge was our gateway to the second continent of the trip! This bridge crosses the Bosporus Strait, one of three waterways (the Dardanelles Strait and the Sea of Mariana are the others) that separate the European half of Istanbul and the Asian half (though about 95% of Turkey is located in Asia on the Anatolian Peninsula).  It's very cool to think about being on one continent one second and in another the next (plus the views from the water are spectacular, but you'll have to wait until we return to Istanbul for those!).
 

This photo was taken from that same bridge, showing one last glimpse into the older part of Istanbul (on the Eastern side of the Bosporus).  The western part contains the newer industries in the city, including construction, road reconstruction, and automobile manufacturing (particularly Fiat, the Italian car company), though they all negatively impact the environment here.
 

Just me having a quick glass of tea on the Sea of Marmara... Either way, the tea here is absolutely amazing.  If any parents or friends are looking for a great glass, make sure you get your loved one to bring you back some... (Grandma, you're welcome).
 

On the way to Bursa, we stopped at this grocery store.  This store (I can't remember the name of the store now) was set up very similar to Wegman's back in the States, as a rather large market with all sorts of food items, drinks, bakery, etc. could be easily found, while a small cafe and with ATM machines and other odds and ends were on the other side.  It was the perfect place to grab a snack for the road and get some of that tea you saw earlier (they also sell hot chili Doritos, kinda odd...).
 

The rather sharp hills that run along the northern coast of Turkey along the Black Sea look a lot like this, very green, lush hillsides all coming out of the ground from seemingly nowhere.  These mountains are part of the Pontic range; they were created probably millions of years ago as a result of fault activity in the region (all of Turkey is subject to earthquakes periodically because of the tectonic plates here).  We could see cows and goats in the grass grazing.  Really cool!
 

Even though these look like the smokestacks from a nuclear power plant, they are actually cooling towers for a natural gas plant.  Turkey has almost no energy resources within their borders, so they have to trade for oil and natural gas from Iran and Central Asia, at a loss for their economy.  Though, the government is looking to close this energy gap by building nuclear power plants in the northern and southern half. We'll see how the public reacts to the scares...
 

An absolutely beautiful view of Bursa from our lunch restaurant.  Keep scrolling for the meal!
 

An early 15 c. mausoleum, this structure was commissioned by Sultan Mehmet I (not the one who conquered Istanbul) while he was healthy so he and his family could have a final resting place before the time came.  Mehmet was extremely concerned throughout his life that Mongolian invaders would come to Bursa (and eventually Istanbul once the capital moved) and remove the sultanate from power, which did temporarily when Timur (or Tammerlane) invaded Bursa in 1299, burning the Ulu Mosque (later on!!!) down.

 

This is a photo of the Mihrab decorative wall inside the mausoleum, facing Mecca. Such a beautiful piece that shows off the green tile work (instead of the cobalt blue we saw in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul).  As we see in the next picture, the position of this wall is critical to the orientation of the bodies within the entire Green Mausoleum.

As we can see here, Mehmet I's decorative casket (though his body is buried more than 20 feet into the ground as a means to protect it from the foot traffic visitors to the Mausoleum and the adjacent mosque) is perpendicular to the Mihrab wall.  This is because the most famous Ottoman sultans and their families were buried on their sides with their heads facing Mecca, another tradition completely in line with the Muslim tradition.  Plus, the turban on the casket marks the side where Mehmet's head rests.

Inside the Green Mosque now, adjacent to the Mausoleum, we saw a much different sort of religious setup than in Istanbul.  Sure, this Mihrab wall is the most decorated in the structure with beautiful tilework on the wall facing Mecca, but the rest of the mosque is set up not solely as a religious hub, but a multifunctional community center as well.
 

This picture is of the ceiling of the main dome sitting above the main prayer area (in the foreground of the previous photo (what amazing tile work and painting, huh?!).
 

This picture shows several of the main differences between the Green and Blue Mosques.  In the Green, the area above the main entrance, shown here, is reserved for the Sultan and his family to pray, directly in the center of the mosques in full view of the other patrons walking in and praying.  In the Blue Mosque, the Sultan's prayer chamber was in a corner adjacent to the Mihrab, seemingly out of the way of the rest of the faithful.  Additionally, this mosque has a traditional 4 iwan design, with four rooms all meeting in the center where the main prayer area is.  Three of these sections could be used as classrooms, where school aged and adults could come to the mosque for religious based text analysis and general religious education, which was not possible in the Blue Mosque.  Finally, even though the women's prayer area was separate from the men's area (off to the side on either side), it was clearly visible by everyone, just partitioned off with a two foot high gate, a major difference from Istanbul.
 

This originally was three traditional Ottoman homes very near the Mosque, but have since been changed into one massive gift shop.  Though photos were not allowed here, trust me, the amount of merchandise in here was absolutely astounding (...I may have purchases some of it...)
 

Like I said before, the Ulu Mosque in the ancient city center was the one destroyed by Timor's army in 1299, but rebuilt to the condition it stands in today.  This Mosque is clearly more modern in style, as you can with the massive pillars in the center of the room.  I must also point out that all the Mosques here have what is known as calligraphy, an art form where Arabic words are written using a very particular method, and are displayed in the mosques for Muslims to admire.  Also notice the massive skylight in the center of the room (it was so bright it made it very difficult to snap this shot).
 

This fountain has several spigots along the outsides and is used in Muslim's traditional washing ceremony before praying (known as ablution stations).  In some mosques, like the Green mosque, this water is also available for drinking by the worshipers following their washing.
 

The absolutely gorgeous Mihrab wall in the Mecca-facing side of the Ulu Mosque.  Absolutely breathtaking!
 

Following our trip to the Ulu Mosque, we all had the chance to do some shopping in the Bursa Baazar, the main shopping center of both the ancient city.  As you can see, the entire complex (many, many of these intermingling hallways) were mobbed with people, trying to get their hands of some food, jewelry, dresses, and most importantly silk scarves (as this is what product this city is most famous for).  After some bargaining with the local shopkeepers, most of us were able to snatch up some great pieces to bring home to our friends and families.
 

The fountain in the Bazaar, providing us with a cool mist (along with some cool Turkish ice cream!) before our bus arrived to take us to the hotel.
 

Not your average cup of coffee I would say... Though it is small, it is packed with flavor, as the top becomes a bit crusty by adding sugar to the finely ground coffee while the bottom fills with the coagulated mixture of sugar and coffee.  A very wonderful treat at the end of a long day (we definitely needed the water in the clear plastic box to cut down the strength of the coffee after that).
 

Some traditional Bursa food:
 

As served in the restaurant as pictured before, this main dish of Bursa is known as Iskandir.  This plate has a layer of pita bread, then a layer of paper thin beef and lamb, which is then covered in a butter and tomato sauce (which makes the bread ooze with flavor and moistens the meet even more).  Then, tomatoes are added to the outside and a layer of yogurt is added to the side as a finish touch (the yogurt acts like American sour cream, cooling down the whole plate and works incredibly well).  I can tell you for sure that very few people in the room were dissatisfied with their meal!
 

And now for the HIGHLIGHTS!

When women enter a mosque, they are expect to have their heads covered with a scarf and have thier shoulders and ankles covered.  Unfortunately, when this is not possible, in the case of Adriana and Rebecca, you get these coats in the Ulu Mosque.... Great photo opp here!
 

Special thanks to Andrew for his awesome presentation on Islamic art and architecture. Hopefully it comes in handy for the next week and a half!

On the bus this morning, Liz was getting upset about something (I can't remember what...), which most people on the bus heard.  Soon after, someone else yelled out "Snickers!" just like in the commercials back home.  All of a sudden, Callan stood up and ran to Liz, Snickers in hand, ready to quell the situation (much to everyone else's joy)!

The last one is my own stupid comment.... I smelled my Turkish coffee and someone asked me what it smelled like.  I said, and I quote, "This is going to sound really dumb, but this coffee smells hot.". I was right...

Well, that all for this edition of the blog! ECGT signing off!