Stepping into Koza Han is like stepping back in time. The han was built in 1491 and showcases the distinct Ottoman architectural style, characterised by arched, covered passageways and a serene central courtyard. The ground floor features an elegant sadirvan (fountain) surrounded by 95 rooms that open onto the courtyard, once bustling with merchants negotiating the prices of their silk cocoons. While the silk trade no longer defines Koza Han’s daily activities, visitors can still find affordable, high-quality silk products, from delicate fabrics to luxurious shawls and bridal dowry items.

Despite recent renovations, Koza Han has retained its original character and charm. The leafy inner courtyard is shaded by towering oak trees that have stood here for centuries. Today, the courtyard is filled with cozy cafes, offering a peaceful retreat from the vibrant markets outside. Low tables and cushioned seating create a warm, welcoming atmosphere where patrons can sip Turkish tea, indulge in local sweets, and enjoy the tranquil ambiance.

A modern marketplace with Ottoman roots

Though the grand silk trade of the past may have diminished, Koza Han remains a key destination for those seeking authentic silk products. The shops surrounding the courtyard now sell an array of silk garments, scarves, and even some fine table silver. The quality of the silk here, though still exceptional, reflects a more boutique trade, catering to the tastes of modern visitors while honouring the traditions of old.

The blend of Ottoman heritage and contemporary life is what makes Koza Han so captivating. It is a place where history and commerce meet, where the past echoes through the cobbled pathways and arches, and where the simple act of sipping tea under the shade of ancient trees feels like participating in a centuries-old tradition.

For anyone interested in Ottoman architecture, Turkish culture, or the fascinating history of silk production, Koza Han is a must-visit. Its blend of architectural beauty, historical significance, and modern-day vibrancy make it one of Bursa’s most treasured landmarks. As you wander through the grand archways, explore the silk shops, or relax in the leafy courtyard, you can’t help but feel connected to the merchants, travellers, and artisans who passed through this remarkable building over the centuries.

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Palaces, bridges, fountains, tombs and kervansarays (traveller’s inns) are also amongst the fine buildings which remain to the present day. The Ottomans were fond of hunting and of spending time outdoors, often with lavish picnics, and you will find wooden köşks (pavilions or summer houses) in many parks and woodlands.

Private houses, amongst which are the konak (mansion) and yalı (summer house, especially those on the shores of the Bosphorus) were traditionally built of wood, with the ground floor and foundations only being built of stone. Some have survived to the present day, despite the fire hazard that their wooden structure posed. Recently, great interest has been shown in their preservation and many of them have been renovated and some converted to hotels and pensions. Typically the upper floors jut out over the street and the windows are obscured by wooden latticework, intended so that the women of the house could look out without being observed.

The houses were planned around a central gallery room, known as a hayat, off which the other rooms opened. The quarters were divided into the harem (the private part of the house only visited by the family and female guests). In grander houses, these two areas would have separate courtyards, sometimes with fountains and ornamental pools.

If you’re a lover of architecture and are planning a visit to Turkey, here’s a quick look at ten unmissable sights to whet your appetite.

Ten unmissable Ottoman sights

Yeşil Cami and Yeşil Türbe (Green Mosque and tombs) – Bursa

Commissioned by Mehmet I in 1412, the Green Mosque is the most significant monument in Bursa and was the first Ottoman mosque where tiles were used extensively as interior decoration, setting an important precedent. The Green Tomb is the tomb of Mehmet I.

Koza Han (Silk Market) – Bursa

Built in 1491 by Beyazit II as part of the market and covered bazaar area, Koza Han has been central to Bursa’s famous silk trade since that time, trading in silk cocoons as well as the finished product.

Selimiye Mosque – Edirne

The Selimiye Mosque was built between 1569 and 1575 by the great architect Mimar Sinan for Sultan Selim II, Sinan described it, and in particular, the dome, which is 31.5 metres in diameter, as his masterpiece.

Sultan Beyazid II Mosque – Edirne

Work began on this mosque in 1484. Designed by the architect Hayrettin, it has a single dome 21 metres in diameter over the prayer hall, and nearly a hundred smaller domes over the buildings of the complex.

Rüstem Paşa Kervansaray – Edirne

Rüstem Paşa Kervansaray is was commissioned by Ottoman statesman and grand vizier Rüstem Paşa and built by court architect Mimar Sinan in 1561. The building is used today as a hotel with 110 rooms after two years of redevelopment. 

Dolmabahçe Palace – Istanbul

One of the last great buildings of the Ottoman area, the extravagant Dolmabahçe Palace, which replaced Topkapı as the home of the sultans, was completed in 1856 on the orders of Sultan Abdül Mecit. It was designed by the most famous architects of the time, Karabet Balyan and his son Nikoğos. Some say it is one of the most glamorous palaces in the world.

Süleymaniye Mosque – Istanbul

Constructed in 1557 by legendary architect, Mimar Sinan, the Süleymaniye Mosque,came to symbolize the greatness of Süleyman the magnificent. It stands on top of the 3rd hill dominating the Golden Horn and contributing to the skyline of Istanbul. The mosque is the one of the largest mosques in Istanbul and is one of the most popular sights.

Topkapı Palace – Istanbul

Built between 1472 and 1478, Topkapı Palace was the home of the sultans and the centre of Ottoman power for 400 years, during which time it was a work in progress as successive sultans added new buildings and made alterations.

Surrounded on three sides by the Marmara Sea, the Bosporus, and the Golden Horn, Topkapı Palace is located on a hill atop Istanbul’s Old City. It’s spread over four courtyards and 400,000 square meters of gardens, buildings, gates, and fountains. 

Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque) – Istanbul

Constructed between 1609 and 1616 for Sultan Ahmet I by the architect Sedefkar Mehmet Ağa. The mosque is known as the Blue Mosque because of the exquisite blue Iznik tiles which decorate its interior. It is also the only mosque to have six minarets.

İshak Paşa Palace – Doğubeyazıt

İshak Paşa Palace is an unexpectedly intricate pearl of architecture, contrasting its beauty with a mountainous, sometimes drab, landscape. Part of the unique character of this palace is its remote setting. It was constructed by an Ottoman governor on an important trading route and is a mixture of Ottoman, Persian and Seljuk styles. It was built between 1685 and 1784.

Source: Discover Turkey

Featured photo: Haydarpaşa Station, Istanbul.

This article was first published on 27 January 2018.

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Much of this ancient spa’s prestige derives from the fact that it became the first Ottoman capital in 1326. Bursa has since developed as a vibrant commercial centre which today is made prosperous by automobiles, food and textiles, as it was by the silk trade in the 15th and 16th centuries. 

The beautiful and prestigious city of Bursa has been a provincial capital since 1841 and, despite its commercial centre, has retained its pious dignity. No city in Türkiye has more mosques and tombs. 

The Romans also developed the potential of Bursa’s mineral springs, and there are estimated to be about 3,000 thermal baths in the city today. 

Want to know more? Take a break and read this article by Ernest Whitman Piper.

Eat, pray and love in Bursa: Former Ottoman capital keeps up with the modern

Forests. Silk. Peaches. History, comedy, a ski resort, and candied chestnuts. What foggy metropolis just a few hours south of Istanbul might I be thinking of? Is it that relaxing natural city on the Marmara Sea? That powerhouse of industry? The former and first Ottoman capital? Yes, that’s right, the Seattle of Türkiye – Bursa.

Reasons to visit Bursa

There are a few good reasons to visit “Burseattle.” It is green with overgrowth and life. All that mist promotes a healthy biosphere! Before the concrete sprawl choked the life out of Istanbul, I’m sure it too was a greenish region by the Marmara Sea like “Green Bursa” is today. Ironically, “Green Bursa” produces almost all of Türkiye’s automobiles, which in turn produce most of Türkiye’s smog. That’s how Bursa earned its other nickname, “Türkiye’s Detroit.”

Beyond the fantastic parks, Bursa’s got great old stuff left over by the Ottomans who wanted to make their city rival any other ancient capitals around. It’s packed with old-style houses, castles, and gorgeous mosques. It’s got natural hot springs for some of the oldest hamams in the old Ottoman Empire. Bursa’s two traditional products, silk and fruit, are still sold in its covered bazaars. Plus, a great comedy tradition was born in Bursa – shadow puppets.

Bursa’s speciality

But forget all that. Forget history, forget silk, forget peaches. As soon as you get off the boat at Mudanya from Yenikapı, you’re going to want to get on the bus to Bursa’s city centre and find the first İskender Kebab restaurant you set eyes on.

In the mid-1800s, İskender Usta was sitting next to his fire pit of Cağ Kebab – a bunch of greased-up garlicky lamb steaks run through the middle and roasted on a spit for hours.

He watched the tasty melted fat drip into the ashes and sizzle away to nothingness, and felt a great despair grip his heart. So much delicious gooey cholesterol was vanishing before his Usta’s eyes. He pondered: How could he wring every last drop of artery-plugging joy from those lamb steaks? İskender realized he could tilt the whole thing vertically and, as the meat cooked, the fat would baste itself. Then, because that was not nearly fatty enough, he decided to serve the thin slices of roasted lamb with hot liquid butter and whole milk yoghurt. Add some tomato sauce, some chopped-up old bread, and he had created it: A dish which can cause heart disease in otherwise healthy twentysomethings. İskender Kebab is a miracle.

Maybe you didn’t know that the whole idea of döner kebab was invented in Bursa, and even though it’s widely in use throughout Türkiye, Europe, and really the rest of the world, it attained heroic status in Bursa. You can go to several traditional İskender spots in downtown Bursa where they use all-lamb, top-quality-butter İskender, and feast like the inhuman monster you are. While it’s served with a roasted pepper or two as a symbolic nod to vegetables, you don’t actually have to eat them and can safely proceed to the glorious mouthwatering roasted meat. İskender Kebab is the perfect food.

A city filled with history

You’ll probably be exhilarated after stuffing yourself, so maybe take an idle walk through the city centre. Bursa was the capital for almost 200 years and holds some unbelievable architecture inside its walls. Yes, yes, it has actual walls, and it has actual tombs of the first Ottoman sultans. The Külliye – the social complex featuring a mosque, a school, a bath, and a marketplace – flourished here, and provided the rest of the empire with a ready model for its urban plans.

Downtown, the first obvious stops are the Ulu Camii (The Grand Mosque) and the Kapalı Çarşı (Grand Bazaar).

The grand mosque of Bursa was built to overwhelm. Unlike the gigantic mosques in Istanbul, the Ulu Cami was built as a rumble of smaller domes and columns, its roof undulating in waves.

Outside your eyes will follow the swoop and bellow of every dome; inside you’ll see the many names of God in big block Arabic on every otherwise blank wall. It’s famous for its calligraphy, and the talent of the calligraphers comes forward in a barer style – fewer tiles or ornaments get in the way.

Outside your eyes will follow the swoop and bellow of every dome; inside you’ll see the many names of God in big block Arabic on every otherwise blank wall. It’s famous for its calligraphy, and the talent of the calligraphers comes forward in a barer style – fewer tiles or ornaments get in the way.

The koza (“cocoon” in Turkish) is where the silk comes from. A sericulturist will let the silkworms get just to the point of metamorphosis and then boil them alive. They catch a thread of silk from the cocoons in the bucket of water, and then thread them all through a hoop, and then spin the strands into thread. The Koza Han still displays a sheer variety of silk products – scarves, shirts, slippers, and pyjama trousers.

From the Koza Han, slip deeper into the covered bazaar until you find the Aynalı Carşı, the market with mirrors. This used to be a hamam until it got converted into shops and storehouses hundreds of years ago. It’s here that you can buy the best shadow puppets. During the construction of the Ulu Camii, two unbelievably lazy dudes started a comedy routine instead of working and drew a crowd. They got so unintentionally popular that nobody was working on the mosque, and, as the legend goes, the Sultan had them executed. Their names were probably not Karagöz and Hacivat, but those were the monikers given to the shadow puppets bearing their personalities. At the Karagöz Antikci in the Aynalı Çarşı, you’ll find a smiling shopkeeper ready to perform the same impromptu routines with jointed shadow puppets behind a sheet. But if you wanted to see a real show, you should head down to the Karagöz Museum in Çekirge on any Saturday at noon for a full-scale shadow play, and some detailed exhibits of puppets through the ages.

In the Hisar district, you can perambulate the streets to check out the old Ottoman-style noblemens’ houses. Two- or three-storey white plaster houses with brown trim give an appearance of order and cleanliness to the streets. Amid the houses be sure to visit some of the Külliyes for the dead sultans. The Muradiye complex is a must, as is the Emir Sultan Mosque.

More than history

You’re all historied out by now, and probably more than a little nauseous from walking around with a full stomach. The only sane choice is to get into a bath. How about a genuine straight-from-the-underworld hot spring? The Eski Kaplıca Hamam in Çekirge has your back – and your arms, and your legs, and the friendly hamam workers will scrape all the dying skin cells off all of them. This marble fortress of domes and glass gets its heat straight from the Horhor spring, which blasts out water at a frightening 90 degrees Fahrenheit. But hey, that means it’s extra healthy and mineral-y, and probably better for your skin, right?

If you’re not into being scalded and scraped, you can always punish your muscles with a hike. And you really should do this before you trudge back to the ferry and make your way back to gritty, smoggy Istanbul. Bursa still boasts a huge Botanical park and an expansive zoo, and of course, Uludağ – the great mountain.

Though it used to be worshipped as Olympus, home to the Greek gods, modern locals and visitors had the sacrilegious audacity to build a massive cable car up the side of the mountain and go skiing on it.

In the fall, you’re bound to get swamps of fog and the last green lushness of the season near the base, with alternating rains and freezes closer to the summit. But in the fullness of winter, you’ll probably run down Zeus as you ski down the slopes. Just don’t go skiing after eating an İskender Kebab – unless you’re planning on your friends rolling you down the mountain.

This article was first published in November 2017 and updated in 2022.

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