Bursa

Alhamdulillah, I was able to go to Bursa yesterday. One line item ticked off of my to-do list. I kind of already knew this, but it is a bit of a bummer to go to this kind of neat place by myself. I was never one who like to go and see things for the sake of seeing them. I would much rather see people. However, it would still be a shame if I spent so long in the country and didn't do at least a little sightseeing, given that I don't really have a whole lot else going on other than work and applications.

Bursa is more or less the "Detroit" of Turkey - a very automotive city, although it has agricultural roots. It was the first capital of the Ottoman empire, and many of the early sultans are buried here. It also is dominated by a mountain called Uludağ, kind of like Qasiyoon dominates Damascus. Lots of history here, but it is also a very green and beautiful place.

I got up and about a bit earlier than I had been on weekends, at around 8:30 or so. I got ready and went to the office to verify a couple of things and identify some must-sees in Bursa after the agricultural fair Erkut wanted me to go to. I made a list: go to the Uludağ mountain, see the Emir Sultan (Gazi Osman) Camii, see the Muradiye complex, visit the Yeşil/Green Mosque, visit the Ulu Camii, and check out some local Mevlevi lodge. Also, I had to eat Bursa Iskender Kebab at an authentic place and, at Erkut's suggestion, buy some Bursa towels. Alas, I forgot the list at the office, because I hurried back the apartment to get my passport - I wasn't sure if I needed ID during the trip (I didn't). I wasn't sure if I was going to spend the night in Bursa, but if not, I didn't want to get back to Istanbul too late. I wanted to get out relatively quickly, because I wanted to get back early enough so that I could take public transportation back to the apartment and not a cab after midnight.

There are a lot of bus companies in Turkey. In Istanbul, there are two big "Otogars" or bus stations. One is in Europe (Esenler) and the other is in Anatolia (Harem). Most of the buses go from Esenler and stop in Harem anyways, so I just went directly to Harem, since the trip from Esenler to Harem is an hour. At about 10:20 or so, I took the first bus I could see going to Beşiktaş, which is a ferry hub. I guess the ferries are called "motors", pronounced "moe toe rz". I reached Beşiktaş in about fifteen twenty minutes. However, I waited at the ferry station to go to Üsküdar on the Asian side for another twenty minutes, in part because when the ferry came to drop off its load, it pulled back off and made room for a larger Tourist/scenic Bosphorous ship to come and load people before it came back to pick up people. I felt quite discriminated against. It is always about the money (that ticket was 10x more than my ferry ticket). The ferry ride took about fifteen minutes.

At Üsküdar, I asked around but did not find Harem to be within walking distance. One Sufi looking guy I asked didn't know, so he asked an older Turk, calling him Haji. That guy seemed offended by the title for some reason (must be a staunch secularist), but he spoke English and told me to take a cab, which I did. It was a bit of a hike, but I think there might be a dolmuş to Harem from the ferry station.

At the bus station, I jumped on the first bus leaving; the company was ironically named Uludağ, Erkut's last name. There are buses leaving for Bursa every few minutes, since Bursa is on the way to everything in Southern Turkey pretty much (e.g., Izmir, etc.). Just a couple of minutes after I bought my ticket, we were on the way at 11:30.

The bus was rather full. I initially sat in the front right seat, but was escorted by the stewards to the back. I couldn't find a seat number on my ticket, but they told me to sit somewhere. Oh well. I guess they needed the front seat for themselves.

Shortly after leaving the city area, the terrain became really hilly. There was lots of green. After about an hour or so, the bus got onto a pretty big ferry and everyone got off the bus and walked around. The ferry even had a bustling store in the middle - I finally decided to try some Simit. It was a rather foggy day, but the weather was still nice and it was a pleasant ride. If you plan on taking a bus to Bursa or anywhere in the south, I would take a look at the weather report - I would not want to take that half hour ferry ride in stormy weather. Here is a picture of me on the boat as well as another (crooked) one with me eating simit:

The bus drive was pleasant enough, and they served drinks and snacks. I did doze off a bit. I had to be cafeful with what I ate, since my stomach wasn't feeling to great. I went in to travel mode. At about 1pm, we got off the ferry, and a little over an hour later (~215pm or so), we reached the Bursa station. The Bursa station was pretty impressive, with a masjid, shops, restaurants, etc.. Maybe that is what Esenler is like - Harem was just a bunch of bus companies and buses and a fenced in parking lot. Here is a pic of what is in the Bursa station:

I couldn't figure out how to get to the Butarim 2008 farm fair, and I forgot the directions, so I asked the taxi guys. The first guy didn't know, so I went to dispatch and showed him Erkut's message about it and that Turyap organized it, so he understood. It wasn't too far from the bus station, in a place called Buttim. By about 245 or so, I was at the fair.

They had a lot of big machines outside:

The exhibition was mostly people trying to sell stuff to farmers, which is what I expected. Lots of machinery, seeds, and the like. I picked up a lot of material and business cards - not much else I could really do. The fair itself was quite large. Over 100,000 people attended last year. Lots of farmers. You could tell they were rather more religious people than the average Istanbulite. However, the mosque didn't fill up at Asr time by any means. Lots of travellers I'm sure. I certainly was traveling. There were quite a few more women there as attendees than I expected. I figured that the exhibits would have their share, but a lot of people came with families. There was an Ataturk exhibit for some reason as well:

I felt a little bad about one thing. Some exhibit was handing out bags. I figured I would get one to hold all the material I had collected. Everyone was standing around the guy, and he must have said something in Turkish about forming a line, so everyone else did. I didn't notice this, and felt like a bit of an idiot after he asked me if I was foreign and I said yes and he gave me the bag, but when I turned around I saw the long line. The Turkish farmers made a line, but despite being such a proponent of lines, I did not participate. Quite embarassing.

On my way out, some vendors were selling stuff. I decided to buy a colorful rug. I think it might be a prayer rug, but I'm not sure. It looked neat.

I went to pray at the Buttarim mosque, which is relatively new, from the 1990s I think. It had an interesting shape. I prayed a shortened prayer, as I was travelling. Here is a pic of the Buttarim mosque:

After leaving the prayer area, some kids decided to harass me and kept asking for money. I told them I would buy them chocolate, not give them money, so we walked for about a kilometer until we came across a stall selling candy and I got them some. It was rather annoying - they most have said "money" over a hundred times between them. Here are some of the urchins:

Now I tried to begin the tourism part of my trip to Bursa. Unfortunately, I was in a rather remote area, so I didn't see too many taxis or a variety of buses. However, some people told me which direction everything was, and by looking at the map, I figured out what bus I should take to see the mosques. However, when I got on the bus, I was foiled by the lack of a ticket. Unlike Istanbul, you cannot simply give the driver coins. You need to have some kind of physical ticket! I was forced to take a taxi. Later, by pure chance, I found out that you could buy a ticket at one of those corner magazine/candy stalls. I don't know where else you can find them. Make sure you have one though. I suppose you could probably get one at the bus station, but I hadn't known that I would need one.

The taxi ride took about 20 minutes, to get into town. You can see Uludağ mountain in the background, but there are a couple of other mountains as well I think. The taxi took me to Ulu Camii, as I had asked him. It is a pretty big mosque, built in 1399. Not terribly beautiful or anything, but as big as the Blue Mosque I would say. I think there is some reconstruction in the middle - possibly the central dome. There was light coming in from where the dome should have been - there was a dome like structure, but I don't know if it permanent or temporary. There was a walled off area in the middle. The walls were surprisingly plain - just some painted designs. It is worth seeing if you are in Bursa - I wouldn't come to Bursa just to see it though. Here is a couple of pictures:

I did a little bit of shopping as I walked around the big complex. I bought a couple of 500-piece tasbeehs (I hadn't seen anything like it before that I can remember - I might not use it, but I can give it to someone who will). I also bought a winter kufi.

I asked one of the guys where I could get some Iskender kebab. He told me to keep going down the street. I did so, and found a place on the same side of the road as Ulu Camii. It dated to 1867, so I figured it would be decent and authentic. I don't know if it is the oldest place to get Bursa Iskender Kebab, but I figured it would be good enough. I noticed there aren't too many places proclaiming to sell Iskender in Bursa - lots of places sell it in Istanbul, but I guess they can't do it in Bursa unless they are established, or else no one would go there. There was a twenty minute wait to get in - the place was packed. Once I did get in, they had some other guy come in and sit across from me on my table. That was a bit wierd, but what can you do? Here is a pic of the place:

My target to leave back for Istanbul was about 8pm, so I could be at Harem by 11 and take the public transport back. I was still debating staying the night, but I figured I had things to do back in Istanbul. That meant I had to leave the downtown area by 730pm or so. After eating, it was maybe 6pm or 630pm, so I still had a bit of time. Yeşil Camii, or the Green Mosque, was nearby, as was Emir Sultan Mosque, so I figured I would try to see them. I only made it to the Green Mosque though, since by the time I made it there, time was running low, and I was tired. Once again though, I was affected by the unfortunate habit I've seen of people giving directions but not really knowing. The guy who ate next to me told me to go back towards Ulu Camii and that the Green Mosque was beyond that (I found more people to speak English in Bursa than in Istanbul, which was wierd - I guess it is just where I am staying). I asked another guy, and he told me to go back the other way, which is what my inner compass was telling me anyways. Eventually, I found the place, alhamdulillah. It wasn't too far. I also found some towels - a bit pricey, but I figured, what the heck. Some tourist shop - probably paid double what I should have. The Green Mosque was also old, from the 1400s. It wasn't as big. It wasn't spectacular either - a bit smaller than the Istanbul ones. It wasn't even really green - the outside was white/gray, and the inside was blue, aquamarine, and a little green. It had some side rooms and an interesting layout though. I wish I could have seen the Muradiye complex and the other mosques and climed Uludağ - in sha Allah another time. Not this trip though - there are too many other line items. Here are a couple of pics of the Green Mosque:

Alhamdulillah, as I asked the newspaper stand guy about buses, he asked if I wanted to buy a ticket and I remembered. The bus stop was between Ulu and the Green Mosque, on a side street - I had to take bus 38. It took me right back to "Terminal," which is what the Otogar of Bursa is called I guess. There are a lot of buses that go to the Terminal - I don't think you need a taxi to get anywhere from the bus station, but you just need a ticket!

Alhamdulillah, I got back to the station right at 8pm. Uludağ company didn't have one going at 8pm, but their rep pointed me to another company - I don't even remember the name. They were leaving in a couple minutes, so I hopped on, found a free seat, put my bags in the overhead compartment, and off we went. This bus was pretty high tech - it had a live satellite feed I think - except it kept freezing up. That is alright, I needed to rest anyways. Once again, there was a snack and drinks offered.

On the way in, we got on the big ferry and it departed within a few minutes. We got to the ferry area in just over an hour, at 915pm or so. Unfortunately, this time, we missed it - it was full as we approached, and we waited about forty minutes before we could board another one. There were some just waiting there, but perhaps they didn't have a crew. I got out of the bus and walked around and got some juice to drink.

The night had gotten colder at this point. When we got on the ferry, I walked about the deck with my hood on. There was light on the land on both sides, but when I looked out to sea, it seemed like I couldn't tell where the sky began and where the water ended. It looked like a big black void, and was a bit disturbing to contemplate. If I looked to the sky or the sea, I could see the horizon, but if I tried to look at the horizon, I couldn't find it.

Instead of being 15 minutes ahead of schedule, we were now about 20 minutes behind schedule (the schedule being my ETA of 11pm based on my outbound trip) due to the delay at the ferry. I wonder how much time going on the ferry was supposed to save anyways (as opposed to driving around). I had asked the bus personnel where I should get off - Harem, Atasehir, or somewhere in the middle - they told me they would let me know. We reached the Atasehir area at around 1130 or so. We never stopped in Harem. We crossed into Europe and went to some place past my area actually, on the way to Eyup. There, this company had a station where I was told to get off - apparently, they have little microbuses that take people to different areas at no charge, so I took one to Mecidiyekoy. Had I known this, I probably could have taken a later bus out of Bursa, since I didn't have to worry about public transportation after midnight. Khayr in sha Allah. So, I reached home at 1245 or so - there was still traffic, even so late!

As for costs, I spent YTL 1.5 on the bus to Beşiktaş; YTL 1.4 on the motor/ferry ride; YTL 6 on the taxi to Harem; YTL 20 on the bus to Bursa; YTL 0.5 on some simit on the bus ferry; YTL 1.5 on some ayran on the ferry; YTL 1.5 for a chocolate bar on the ferry; YTL 10 on the taxi to Burtarim; YTL 5 on the rug; YTL 9 on chocolate for the kids; YTL 10 on the taxi to Ulu Camii; YTL 7 on the two tasbeehs; YTL 7 or 8 on the kufi; YTL 19 for the iskender plus water plus some sweet grape juice; YTL 22.5 for two Bursa towels; YTL 2 on the bus ticket; YTL 20 on the ticket back to Istanbul; YTL 1 on the juice cocktail waiting for the ferry; YTL 2.25 on chocolate and milk on the ferry for a total of YTL 147.65. Given today's exchange rates, that is about USD 100. Not bad.

Today wasn't as productive as I had hoped. I slept in to make up for yesterday. I Skyped with Mom and Osman. Alhamdulillah, my dad reached Hyderabad okay. I paid YTL 25 for the monthly association fees (I didn't know how to do this, but the neighbor knocked and asked me about it, so I just paid her). I did some laundry. Not much else.

Once again, I saw this open market today. I guess it is on Sunday only - it kind of reminded me of Souq al Jumuah in Shaykh Mohiuddin where I lived in Damascus, with the kind of stuff they were selling. The only difference was that this was only once a week, as Souq al Jumuah used to be I guess. I was cheered by that thought, thinking hey, this is a real Souq al Jumuah, until I remembered it was Sunday! They had all sorts of things there - fruits, vegetables, wooden spoons, clothes, trinkets, plastic stuff, etc. Typical Souq al Jumuah fare. I even smelled fish every few hundred yards. I decided to walk the length of it. It was between a kilometer and a mile long. Unfortunately, the way back was uphill. The stalls repeat content, so I won't really have to venture down again. I bought some potatoes (1 kilo for YTL 1.25, bananas and grapes (3 YTL for a bunch of each) today at this market. In the few weeks since Eid, I've noticed the effects of eating the kind of food I've been eating, not just around my waistline, but also in the complexion of my skin. I don't need Morgan Spurlock's 30 days to figure out I should reintroduce the other parts of the food pyramid into my diet. I made some noodles and soup and had that together. I boiled some potato and added that. I cut up a bit of banana and tried adding that as well. It turned out interesting. Certainly edible, but also certainly not my best work. I'll have to think about if I want to get serious - I haven't even bought cooking oil or any spices. I might stick to boiling things for now.