Bursa

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For other uses, see Bursa (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 2.125.140 (city center) 1.515.912) 40°11′N 29°04′E

Bursa
The City of Bursa
The City of Bursa
Coat of Arms of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality

Coat of Arms of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality
Location in Turkey
Location in Turkey
Overview
Province Bursa Province
Population (provincial) 2.125.140 (city center) 1.515.912 [2] (2006)
Area (provincial) 11.043 km²
Population density (provincial) 193.43 inh/km²
Elevation 100 m
Coordinates 2.125.140 (city center) 1.515.912) 40°11′ N 29°04′ E
Postal code 16x xx
Area code (0090)+ 224
Licence plate code 16
Mayor Hikmet Şahin (Justice and Development Party)
Website http://www.bursa-bld.gov.tr/

Bursa (formerly known as Brusa, Greek: Προύσσα, Prusa) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the governmental center of Bursa Province. With a population of 1,194,687 (2000 census), it is Turkey's fourth largest city. It was known in the antiquity and the medieval period with the name Prusa. The city is known as "Yeşil Bursa" (meaning "Green Bursa") from its beautiful parks and gardens located throughout the city. The city is famous for its ski resorts (on the mountain of Uludağ), the mausoleums of Ottoman sultans, the surrounding fertile plain, thermal baths and Karagöz & Hacivat shadow puppets. It is also the home of some famous Turkish foods, especially chestnut candy, peaches, and a meat dish called İskender kebap.

Contents

[edit] History

Bursa in 1890
Bursa in 1890

The earliest known site at this location was Cius, which Philip V of Macedonia granted to the Bithynian king Prusias I in 202 BC, for his help against Pergamum and Heraclea Pontica (modern Karadeniz Ereğli). Prusias renamed the city for himself, Prusa.

It was later a major city, located on the westernmost end of the famous Silk Road, and was the capital of the Ottoman Empire following its capture from the Byzantines in 1326 until the capture of Edirne in 1365 and remained an important administrative and commercial center even after it lost its status as the capital. During the rule of the Ottomans, Bursa was the source of most royal silk products. It received the raw silk from Iran, and occasionally China, and was the 'factory' for the kaftans, pillows, embroidery and other silk products for the royal palaces up through the 17th century. Some of these included golden or silver silk thread which were of particular luxury because they were made by wrapping extremely thin gold or silver wire around a single silk thread by hand. Another traditional occupation is knife making and horse carriage building. Nowadays you can still find hand made knifes, and instead of carriages, there is a big automobile industry.

Bursa sits on a geologic fault like most of Turkey. The city has been partially leveled by strong earthquakes coupled by fires and rebuilt after each time. The last devastating earthquake happened in 1885.

[edit] Economy

Bursa is the center of the Turkish automobile industry, where FIAT and Renault have located their factories, as well as textile and food industries where Coca Cola, Pepsi and many canned food factories are present in the city's organized industrial zones. Traditionally Bursa was famous with its fertile soil and agricultural activities, which are decreasing due to the heavy industrialization of the city. Bursa also is a major tourist attraction: One of the best ski resorts of Turkey is located at Uludağ just next to city proper. Thermal baths have been used in therapy through Roman times, apart from baths operated by hotels, Uludağ University has a physical therapy center using the thermal water. In Bursa district the ancient city of Nicea, (İznik), is the place where the first ecumenical conference of bishops held with result of Nicene Creed.

Zafer Plaza shopping centre
Zafer Plaza shopping centre

[edit] Education

Uludağ University is located in Bursa. After some of the universities in Istanbul it is the most prominent university in the region. It is founded in 1975 under the name Bursa Üniversitesi. The name changed to Uludağ Üniversitesi in 1982. Currently there are about 47000 students registered in 2005-2006 academic year.

[edit] Sports

Bursa has a professional soccer team, Bursaspor, that plays in the Turkcell Super League. They are known as the "Yeşil Timsahlar" ("Green Alligators") and play their home matches at Bursa Atatürk stadium.

Currently the city of Bursa and Uludag is preparing to apply for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Bursa 2018 Web Site

[edit] Places of Interest

Following is a brief list of places of interest in and around Bursa. For a longer list see Places of interest in Bursa.

This unique 5-feet Roman statue was discovered in a smugglers' hideout in Bursa in December 2006 and transported to Bursa Archaeology Museum.
This unique 5-feet Roman statue was discovered in a smugglers' hideout in Bursa in December 2006 and transported to Bursa Archaeology Museum.

[edit] Ulu Camii (The Great Mosque)

Interior of Ulu Camii, showing the fountain (şadırvan) for ritual ablutions.
Interior of Ulu Camii, showing the fountain (şadırvan) for ritual ablutions.

Ulu Camii is the major mosque of Bursa and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture. It was built by Ali Neccar in 1396-1399, at Sultan Bayezid I's command. The mosque is large and rectangular, with twenty domes arranged in four rows of five supported by twelve columns. Supposedly twenty domes are built instead of twenty separate mosques that Sultan Bayezid I promised for winning the Battle of Nicopolis. It has two minarets. Inside the mosque there are 192 monumental wall inscriptions written by famous calligraphers. There is also a fountain (şadırvan) inside the mosque where worshipers can perform ritual ablutions before prayer; the dome over the şadırvan is capped by a skylight, creating a soft, serene light below. The story of the şadırvan inside the mosque, which is unheard of, that the land belong to an old lady who objected to her store taken by padişah. Because consent is not given for the piece of land, prayer cannot be conducted on it thus a şadırvan is built. Architecturally şadırvan helps to have light inside the mosque that is big.

The horizontally spacious and dimly lit interior is designed to feel peaceful and contemplative. The subdivisions of space formed by multiple domes and pillars create a sense of privacy and even intimacy. This atmosphere contrasts with later Ottoman mosques (see for example the work of Süleyman I's chief architect Sinan). These later mosques have increasingly elevated central domes, which create a vertical emphasis that is intended to be more overwhelming, in order to convey the power and majesty of the Ottoman Empire. It is a beautiful piece of architecture.


[edit] Sister cities

Bursa has twenty sister cities. Vinnitsa is the latest to become a sister city of Bursa.[1] The date each relationship was formed is shown in parentheses below.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Web Site. Sister Cities.[1]

[edit] External links

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:
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