Fresh from the oven

Hard at work baking bread in time for iftar.

This will be my last post for a few days as for the rest of this week we are celebrating Eid.

New motorway

This was taken on the new motorway that runs around the top of Bursa. At the moment it doesn't go anywhere else, but they are working to extend it and hopefully at some point it will connect with Istanbul and Izmir. It would certainly shorten the journey times to have a good road.

You can probably tell from the photo, we are having a lot of rain at the moment!

Popcorn

I had never seen a popcorn machine like this before, although I'm sure they are common in other places. The metal pan is making the popcorn and when it is ready the lids at the top open and the popcorn jumps out.

Dolmus

The dolmus is a very convenient way of getting around. It is a type of shared taxi which runs on a set route (the sign on top of the car says what route it does). You pay a set fare generally, but you can get in and out wherever you want by asking the driver. The fares are comparable with the bus and they are very frequent so it works very well.

Bursa plain

This photo was taken looking across the plain from Çekirge. A lot of new development is taking place in the far distance of this photo, but there is still some green left in the middle for now at least.

Evening Sun

A very normal street, but I liked the way the evening sun is shining through the tree.

Kaplama

Kaplama means 'covering' and this cart offers plastic covering of documents, for instance a driving license.

Flag

A modern take on the ubiquitous Turkish flag - it is made out of some shiny shimmering material and was quite impressive reflecting the evening sun.

Queueing for Pide

During Ramadan the bakeries don't sell much during the day, but around 6pm they start to sell Ramadan Pide. Here people are queueing to get theirs fresh from the oven ready for the end of the fast.

Autumn Sky

Today for the first time the weather is starting to feel autumnal. The temperature has dropped around 10 degrees (C) in the last 3 days. As you can see from these clouds, there is rain as well.

Illusion

This is not what it looks like... the door and windows of this little cottage are just painted. I think it is a gas distribution station or something like that. Anyway, it's a very nice way to disguise what would otherwise be an ugly concrete box.

Just Married

This photo is from earlier in the summer when the wedding season was in full swing. In the evening we could hear music from the celebrations almost every weekend. Now during Ramadan there are no weddings.

For platespotters, the 16 at the beginning of the number plate means the car comes from Bursa!

Dinner by moonlight

Another view of the pier at Mudanya. This time the weather was better and we managed to sit outside. It's a bit dark but hopefully something can be seen...

Vantage Point

Up above everything, this lady was peeping out to see what was going on below (you might have to enlarge the picture to find her)

Clock Tower

This clock tower is in the middle of the Heykel square in the centre of Bursa. The road is one of the busiest parts of the centre, and this was a rare moment when I could catch the clock tower with no cars in front!

Corner of Ulu Cami

I haven't managed to get a good shot of the Ulu Cami (Great Mosque) yet because it's just too big, so this glimpse will have to do for now. It is right in the centre of town and is an unmissable landmark.

Fresh figs

Now is the fig season... I was walking home after a meeting today and saw this stall, very tempting. It was a while since I had been out in the middle of the day and although the weather has cooled down a bit lately, it was still hot for walking.

Rally Driver

Maybe there was some kind of rally event yesterday, we went to a local shopping centre and there were a lot of cars and trucks for transporting them. This one had been testing its turns in the car park.

Fun and Games

During Ramadan people often meet to eat the iftar (sunset) meal together. This year it is around 7.30pm in Bursa. Afterwards they gather in tea gardens to drink tea, chat and play games like this one. The tea garden was full and very lively, some people apparently would stay there until the early hours before going home to eat breakfast before the morning prayer call.

Things ain't what they used to be...

This picture is displayed next to the mosque in Çekirge and shows what the area used to look like when it was still a village, before it was swallowed by Bursa. We'll try to post a view of what it looks like nowadays for comparison - needless to say much of the green you can see here doesn't exist any more.

Turkish flag

I think today was a kind of holiday here (I don't know what for though). The centre of town was very busy and this man was selling Turkish flags. I saw some dolmus (shared taxi) which were also flying the Turkish flag.

Which colour will you choose?

So many colours and styles, how can you possibly choose one?

Ramadan Pide

Yesterday was the first day of Ramadan (Ramazan in Turkish). During Ramadan the shops sell this special kind of bread which is called Ramazan pide. It is very good, and only sold at this time.

Ülkü cake shop

This is an old and famous cake shop in the centre of Bursa. We bought some profiteroles and they were delicious!