Bursa, at the foot of Mount Uludağ on the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara, was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire after its conquest in 1326. The early sultans built religious and social complexes (külliye) there, around which the city grew; together with the village of Cumalıkızık, they have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014 under the name "Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire". The trip can be done in a day from Istanbul: the BUDO fast ferry takes 1h50 from Kabataş to Mudanya, Bursa's port. Leave early, on the 8:00am departure, and plan to return on the last boat of the evening.
Highlights
The Grand Mosque (Ulu Camii)
Built from 1396 to 1399 under Sultan Bayezid I, it is covered by twenty domes. In the centre of the prayer hall, an ablution fountain flows beneath a glazed dome, surrounded by large calligraphy panels.
The Green Mosque and Green Tomb
Sultan Mehmed I had this complex built from 1419, on a rise east of the centre. The octagonal tomb, clad in turquoise tiles, houses the sultan's cenotaph; the former madrasa holds the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts.
Cumalıkızık
This village, founded in the early Ottoman period to fund the Orhan Gazi complex, preserves about 270 houses, 180 of which are still lived in. Its cobbled lanes are lined with multi-storey houses of stone, timber and mud brick, painted yellow, white, purple or blue.
Koza Han and the bazaars
Built in 1491 under Bayezid II, between the Grand Mosque and the Orhan Gazi Mosque, this two-storey caravanserai was the silk cocoon market. Its courtyard holds a small mosque set on top of a fountain. Around it spreads the district of hans and the covered bazaar, still busy with trade.
The Uludağ cable car
From Teferrüç station, on the heights of Bursa, the cable car climbs to the wooded slopes of Uludağ, to Sarıalan and then to the hotel area of the ski resort. A return ticket costs 500 TL and the line runs from 10:00am to 6:00pm; wind or maintenance may interrupt it.
Infos pratiques
Tips
Prices checked in October 2026: 1,440 TL for a full-fare BUDO single Kabataş-Mudanya (the online ticket office also showed a promotional fare of 720 TL), 500 TL for the cable car return trip, 250 TL for students. Buy BUDO tickets on the Burulaş website or app, or at the pier ticket offices: the QR code on your phone is enough to board. Mosques remain open to visitors outside the five daily prayers and Friday midday prayers; shoulders and knees covered, hair covered for women, shoes removed at the entrance. Bursa is the home of İskender kebab and candied chestnuts (kestane şekeri), which you will find in the centre. One day is not enough to see everything: choose between the cable car and Cumalıkızık.
How to get there
Grand Mosque (Ulu Camii), central Bursa. By BUDO fast ferry: departure from the BUDO pier at the Kabataş transfer centre (block D), terminus of tram T1 and of the F1 funicular, to Mudanya in 1h50; Mudanya pier is served by Bursa city buses F1, F3, 2U and 1M. Departures from Eminönü and Sirkeci ended on 1 January 2026. By İDO fast ferry: several daily sailings leave from Kabataş, Kadıköy or Yenikapı for the İDO terminal in Bursa (Güzelyalı), calling at Armutlu. Coaches also link Istanbul's bus stations to Bursa's. More details in our guide to [getting around Istanbul](/fr/articles/transports-istanbul).
Opening hours
Nearby
Comments
No comments yet.