Erik

"in spring time this is a famous fruit that turkish people likes..called erik...normally you eat with some salt on it..it is hard but not sweet ...like lemon let's say...it is very expensive 5 ytl is 2euros and 50 centimesper kilo  because these are the first eriks of the year..i haven't seen them in Europe i mean i saw the sweet and mature one's but i saw them in some arabic hot countries like Jordan ...

i adore them but no no i musn't buy ..i must wait also the firsts ones are not so delicious.."

Sui restaurant

"i entered one day this ottoman-greek style house..inside it is very fancy, luxury  resto..they are specialized in chinese, japanese and turkish food..wowwww...i wish i could do it at home as well chinese, japanese, mexican etc etc... "

Update: a lot of people have come here after searching for Sui restaurant. It seems they do not have their own website yet (at least I cannot find it). But if anyone needs to contact them the phone number of the restaurant is 0224 234 6200

Tomatoes

Tomatoes and cucumber from the open air market in the centre of town.

Next Contestant

From the same event as yesterday. The man on stilts has just recruited the next contestant.

Twister

I took this in the centre of town yesterday in the Zafer Plaza square. The children were playing a kind of twister. You cannot see well on the photo but it was attracting quite a crowd.

Bursa Trade Zone

This is the entrance to the Organize industrial zone, on the Mudanya road. The two biggest industries in Bursa are textiles and automotive. The textile companies are mostly local, and they manufacture clothes and other textiles for international companies like Gap and Marks & Spencer.

Wednesday 13:33

This photo was taken inside the covered market, on the street which has all the jewellery shops. I suppose that is why it is advertising jewellery.

Sucuk shop

Sucuk is a kind of spicy sausage made from beef. It is often eaten at breakfast.

Bus

This is a typical Bursa bus. There are some yellow ones as well, I think they are the newer ones. It can be quite slow to travel by bus, however, because there aren't any bus lanes.

Karagöz Museum

This is a museum dedicated to the Karagöz puppet tradition. Inside you can see examples of the puppets, which are made of painted leather very thin so that it is transparent when the light shines through it. There are also old programmes from puppet shows held in the past.

Uludag gazoz

This is a special drink made in Bursa with water from Uludag mountain. It is fizzy and sweet, with a special flavour. It is good in hot weather or after the hamam.

Coca Cola Delivery

Unfortunately we could not access the internet the last two days... apologies for the disruption...

Look carefully, the driver is having a siesta... Don't worry, the van is parked!

Çekirge upper village

This is the view as you enter the mosque complex of Çekirge upper vilage, on the road to Uludag. There are always cats hanging around in this area, somebody must be feeding them.

Irgandi Bridge - inside the bridge

The inside of the Irgandi bridge. It is lined with small workshops and cafes.

Street in town centre

"this is a way from the town center..on the left there is this famous meatball restaurant(turkish for meatball is köfte) ..on the other side there is a less famous shop of tools.."

Spring Decorations

Spring is here! And they decorated the shopping centre to celebrate.

Water Delivery

This is a really good idea which I have never seen in another place. Maybe some of you have seen it in your countries?

Instead of buying water in small bottles from the shop or supermarket, these companies (the one in the picture is called Erikli) deliver 19 litre bottles. You dispense the water by attaching a small pump to the bottle. When it is finished the van comes with a new bottle, and takes the empty one away to be refilled - it is convenient and environmentally friendly as well!

Not so old building

As we showed a lot of old buildings, I would like to show a modern one as well! I took this yesterday, while the sun was still shining.

Fountain

"today the weather is perfect ....after so many rainy days finally the sun did it's job..it workssss ..it is warmmmmmmm...so you can see a little parts of the sun through the water..."

Kervansaray Hotel

This is a view over Bursa looking towards the East. It has grown a lot in the last 10 years.

It's a bit of a grey day, even though spring should be here by now.

In the foreground is the Kervansaray hotel, now owner of the hamam (I know we still have to take a photo inside!).

Fish Market

"..yam yam ...we love to eat fish and here most fish comes from the nearby Marmara sea....before you buy do not forget to bargain!!"

Gift Street

Hediye means gift, or present in Turkish.

Bursa Spor Kiosk

"here is a photo from a shopping center ..this is the store of Bursaspor football team..they call themselves .."the crocodiles" because of the colour i guess...green and white are Bursaspor colours...and we called to their fans "texas" because they are like cowboys ... very  fanatic !!..."

Repairs

This small mosque is being restored. The wooden scaffolding looks frail compared to the metal type.

Tea Market

this photo is from the main market in the center..these are herbs,different kinds of tea etc..here still people cure themselves with old plants...for example in front it says

"to lose kilos :you have to mix;mate-green tea-thyme-rosemary-hether(brier)"

if you don't want to use medicines you can use these plants...tell me if you need something i will ask :)))

Hopeful

This picture was taken in Iznik, near Bursa. There is a huge lake there.

Umut means hope... I wonder what she is hoping for?