Ottoman Era House at the Village of Cumalikizik
Cumalikizik Village is an Ottoman era village which has been carefully preserved and it is still a living and breathing village. Granted that the tendrils of mass tourism seems to be reaching this village, it still wasn’t so bad as to be annoying. To my eyes, the village is one that is less developed than the rest of the country. The village dates from the time of the Ottomans and you can tell that it is a bit behind compared to the a place such as the nearby city of Bursa. I have seen places like this in other countries and I honestly can’t see what would make this deserve a UNESCO World Heritage listing.
Exploring the Village of Cumalikizik
The village isn’t that big as there are less than a thousand people who live here. Most of the people here would cater to the tourist industry by selling local products or operating restaurants or inns. As of now, I wasn’t very impressed yet. But since I was already here I might as well have a look around. It is said that there are more than two hundred heritage houses here in the village. I doubt I would be able to see or even recognize these structures. The village has a basic layout and makes it very easy to explore. Most people would be here but at least during the time of my visit, there wasn’t too many, or at least they were spread out over the village. I noticed that there aren’t a lot of signs here which will point you to places of interest or even signs which describe what places are make it disappointing and confusing to visit.
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