Bursa Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami) & Koza Han Silk Bazaar

Nestled at the northern foothills of Mount Uludağ, the ancient city of Bursa served as the very first capital of the Ottoman Empire between 1326 and 1365. Its spiritual heart is the Grand Mosque (Bursa Ulu Cami), commissioned by Sultan Bayezid I and completed in 1399 following his victory at the Battle of Nicopolis. Built in the monumental Seljuk-Ottoman transitional style, the rectangular mosque is crowned by twenty identical domes arranged in four rows of five. A truly unique feature of Ulu Cami is the marble fountain (şadırvan) positioned directly inside the prayer hall beneath a glass skylight, filling the sanctuary with the gentle sound of bubbling water. Just steps away lies Koza Han (Silk Cocoon Caravanserai), constructed in 1491 by Sultan Bayezid II. This two-story stone caravanserai was for centuries the premier international trading post for precious Chinese and Anatolian silk, and today remains Turkey’s most renowned bazaar for silk scarves and textiles.