Entering the Grand Mosque of Bursa

The city of Bursa is Türkiye’s fourth largest city. It also happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage site. I have never heard of the city of Bursa before but apparently, it is known to be the birthplace of the Ottoman Empire. In fact, Bursa itself was the first major capital city of the Ottoman Empire. This was earlier than Constantinople or Istanbul. Because the Ottoman empire was in the process of expanding at that time, the borders were in flux and the status of capital of the empire was eventually given to Adrianople or now Edirne. Still, Bursa retained its importance.

Because of its role as a capital city, there was a lot of construction that happened in the city. Unsurprisingly, there was a large mosque that was built here. The Grand Mosque of Bursa is one of the major sites to visit here in the city. I took a tram from Kent Meydani to the Grand Mosque which apparently is in the heart of the city. You can see that it is very busy here and no doubt it has been like this for centuries. The mosque is a large building along this busy road and it was difficult to photograph because there was no place to see it in its entirety, except maybe if I somehow fly a drone. Much like the old city of Istanbul, the structures are packed. I would even think that it is even more so here since I was will able to see the major landmarks in Istanbul, unlike here where I don’t have anywhere to back off to.

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