Valentine

Late Valentine's day greetings!

Over the rooftops

If the weather was clearer you would be able to see Uludag in the back of this picture.

Secluded spot

This cafe feels a bit like a private garden. In fact I couldn't see where the actual cafe is, just the tables.

Lost in fog

We are getting some wintery weather at the moment. You can just see the roofs of the covered market here through the haze. The domes are quite typical of Ottoman architecture (there are some very similar looking buildings in the centre of Sarajevo). On the right is a corner of the Ulu Camii.

Apolyont Han

The Apolyont Han is right next to the Zafer Plaza and has just been renovated. A lot of small shops and restaurants have opened inside.

Ipek Han

This is the section of the covered market which was dedicated to silk in the past (ipek means silk). Here they were selling the finished goods, as opposed to the Koza Han which is where the silk cocoons were traded. Today the Koza Han is more known as the silk market.

Giant Billboard

This is the Zafer Plaza, the first Western style shopping centre to appear in Bursa. The glass pyramid makes quite a contrast with the old buildings which surround it. Especially at the moment while it seems to be used for an advertising campaign.

"in Bursa some streets actually most of them are very narrow especially in the town center..we have lots of cars and traffic so sometimes it is better to walk....you can see from the photo the cars,people old buildings and a tree trying to survive:)"

Bursa as it is now

This is the modern day view of yesterday's photo of Bursa in 1977. The mosque is still there, although it's almost obscured by the road now. This was a quiet moment for traffic - usually the roads are a lot busier than this.

Bursa as it used to be

Many thanks to Elaine for this photo. It was made from a slide taken in 1977. Tomorrow we will post the view as it appears nowadays.

Cumhurriyet caddesi

""

Every kind of t-shirt

Another part of the covered market in Bursa. You can still buy just about everything in this market, it is more functional than the one in Istanbul which has become more of a tourist destination. The market is arranged into different areas for different goods - this is the clothes section.

Memories of summer

Another view of the Ataturk statue at heykel. It was taken a while ago but it's nice to see some flowers now that the weather is getting colder.

Balibey Han

A new han in the town centre which has recently been restored. Inside there are some shops and cafes. Above on the hill behond you can see part of the original old city walls.

Walls in the old city

This wall is on the edge of the covered bazaar complex, facing onto Cumhuriyet (Republic) street. It seems like there used to be more of it, possibly it was removed to make room for the street.

relax..

"relax during the daytime in front of this little cafe..the men on the right they are playing backgammon...nice game to pass time...in turkish it is called -tavla-...there are some shops around..probably the workers come to pass time and drink a fresh lemonade!!"

Shoes for sale

"COME COME TO BUY THE CHEAPEST SHOESSSSSS:: the man was yelling...these are colourful summer shoes for women...the are selling them near the road...if somebody likes and wants to get one please send us a message we will ship you.....hahaha"

Egg shop

So many eggs for one little shop!

last summer sun..

"come along to drink a glass of tea in the last sun of the summer...which they call here "the summer of pastirma" ...pastirma is a kind of dry meat..and definitely Lamia i mean me should learn why Turkish people use that term. so keep watching later you will find the answer coming soon..."

Diving Suit anyone?

One of the more specialist shops founds in the centre of Bursa. I think you can buy everything here, if you know where to go!