Tea Garden

A tearoom in Yesil, next to the famous Yesil Cami (green mosque) which Queen Elizabeth entered on her visit to Bursa. From the tearoom there is a fantastic view of the Bursa plain (to follow tomorrow). The metal thing you can see on the right side of the picture is an old tea urn.

What struck me about this tearoom is it was the first place for a few weeks I have seen people smoking. There is now a smoking ban in many public places and you can really notice a difference. It will not be implemented in bars and restaurants until next year, but already many places have become smoke free.

View towards Mudanya

"another view from beautiful hills of mudanya ..."

Sunset

"finally hot weather came (really hot) and beautiful sunny days and lovely sunsets...

Commute

Driving home after a busy day at work.

Corn

"here is a typical corn seller ..a sunny sunday from Mudanya....normally heree they eat boiled salty corns...yamyamyam.."

Ferry to Istanbul

Today I came to Istanbul to meet some friends at the airport. The quickest way to get to Istanbul from Bursa is this ferry, which takes 1hour 20 minutes. It leaves from a place called Güzelyali, which is next to Mudanya and about 20 minutes driving from the centre. This ferry route opened last year and has made getting to Istanbul much quicker.

Mountain view

Bursa has many corners with views like this, as it is built on the side of the mountain. It's nice to be able to see some green even from the centre of the city.

A present from Greece

"this little olive tree is a present from Greece ..the symbol of peace&friendship...ironicly greeks &turks are best friends abroad but sometimes less so when Aegean sea is the case..i mean when they are neighboors..."

Gateway to the past

"an old house door from -cekirge(means grasshopper ,i think there were a lot here because before cekirge was full of forests, it is on the way to uludag)-...i am curious about the house and the garden ...maybe behind the door there is Alaaddin and his friends:)))"

Bursa's first Italian restaurant

Krokodil was one of the first Italian restaurants to open in Bursa. Now there are at least 5 others (a lot of Italians live here so that probably helps). The big building behind is the Anatolia hotel.

Water Fountain

This fountain is outside a hotel in Çekirge. The sides are decorated with tiles from Iznik.

Bursa Spor stadium

"here is the entrance of stadium of bursa...there are some billboards on the wall..it is a publicity of new buildings called -ottomanos-...on the top you can see a huge light for the foot games during the night...here they adore football..."

Old Greek Style Houses

"these are some old greek houses in the very center of bursa market place..it is hard to recognize them while you are walking through..hey are not well kept because of lack of money i guess....not easy to repair old houses...but they are still trying to resist!!!"

MFÖ

"this is a very old turkish pop-rock group...they will come to bursa on monday for a special concert...i said special because 19th of may here is "festa for the young people"..MFO stands for the first letters of their names...the concert is gratis if somebody wants to come tel us:))"

Turkish breakfast

A typical Turkish breakfast - tomatoes, cucumber, olives, cheese, meat and honey. It was taken at Kahve Beyaz restaurant on the road to Mudanya.

Queen Elizabeth II visits Bursa

Yesterday was a day of great excitement in Bursa because Queen Elizabeth came to visit. Of course today the visit is in all the newspapers... The headline means 'the eyes of the world were on this trip'.

She visited Koza Han, where she bought a silk scarf and ate a specially prepared lunch of Turkish food. Later she visited the Yesil Mosque (green mosque). In the picture she is listening to prayers in the mosque. The people of Bursa appreciated the visit very much.

On the BBC website you can see a short film of the Queen's visit to Bursa.

Termal Hotel

"Bursa is full with hotels ..they have termal water and most of them has got some special units for different kind of illnessess like hernia(like me, i went and it works!!),muscle problems etc...they built physico-therapia centers...so this hotel on the photo is one of them..."

Misi Village

"lonesome cowboyyyyyyy....this village called misi is on the way to uludag(big mountain of bursa)..i don't know where the people are,normaly in Bursa there is always someone in the street..today is special.."

Candy Floss Man

"another photo from this sweet seller..they call here -cotton helva-...children's and my favorite...it seems that he like to chat but there are still lot more to sell!!"

Green Bursa

Bursa has the nickname 'yesil Bursa' which means green Bursa. This year it has rained so you can see the green.

This photo was taken only a short distance from the centre of Bursa, on the road to Orhaneli.

Monument to Karagöz

This monument is opposite the Karagöz museum. You can see the beautiful spring tulips by the side of the monument. Tulip is a very popular flower in Turkey.

Starbucks

Starbucks really is everywhere. There are now 5 branches in Bursa. This one is in a residential area called Kükürtlü.

Spring Flowers

I think these flowers are very pretty and unusual. They were growing by the sea in Mudanya.

Carrefour

Inside the Carrefour supermarket.

Murad I tomb

Opposite the Hüdavendigar mosque of yesterday is the tomb of sultan Murad I. He was the third Ottoman sultan and was killed at the battle of Kosovo in 1389 (during Ottoman expansion into the Balkans).

Hüdavendigar Mosque

Another mosque, this time more historical. The Hüdavendigar mosque is in Çekirge. It was built by the sultan Murad I in 1365-6.

The men are sweeping the steps with a broom.

Village Mosque

This small village is at the edge of an industrial area district of Bursa

On Friday at lunchtime the street is full with workers from the factories who go to the mosque.It seems a little bit lonely now...

Mudanya seafront

Mudanya is on the edge of the Marmara sea and about 20 minutes from the centre of Bursa. The seafront is a nice place for a walk when the weather is good.

Unfortunately the sea is quite polluted because many boats pass on their way between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

Vine Leaves

"These are grapes leaves from which turkish people are making dolma..they cook it wıth rice or meat and roll them ...very very delicious..alos in Greece it is a popular dish.."

Çekirge Square

The main square of Çekirge. It used to be a village outside Bursa, but has now become part of the city. It still keeps the feeling of a village though.