Tue, 28/1/14, Bursa
Journey today:
Bursa - Akhisar: 250 km (2 hrs 45 mins)
Akhisar - Pamukkale: 201 km (3 hrs)
Total journey: 450km (5 hrs 50 mins)
Bursa - Akhisar - Pamukkale
Waking up early at 5.30am, we got ready
for breakfast of salad, cheese and bread at 7am and prepared to check
out by 8.15am Again I was quite impressed by the breakfast dish –
especially the variety of cheese.
Being in Bursa in a short while
transported us back to the golden era of the Ottoman empire when it
was the former capital of the Ottoman
Turks before they captured Constantinople
(now Istanbul) in 1453. I especially admired the intricate mosaic
tiles, calligraphy and interior decoration of the mosques of Bursa.
According to Burak, Bursa is now famous for textile and chesnut
candy.
It was cold and drizzling that morning.
Our first destination was the Ulu Camii or Bursa Grand mosque. From
wikipedia: Built in the Seljuk
style, it was ordered by the Ottoman
Sultan Bayezid I
and built between 1396 and 1399. There are 192 monumental wall
inscriptions written by the famous Ottoman
calligraphers
of that period. There is also a fountain (şadırvan)
inside the mosque where worshipers can perform ritual ablutions
before prayer.
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| Ulu Camii |
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| sardivan for ablution |
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| chandeliers of Ulu Camii |
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| Calligraphy art in Ulu Camii |
We then proceeded to the Yesil Camii or
Green Mosque . From wikipedia: Also known as
Mosque
of Mehmed I, is a part of the larger complex (a külliye)
located on the east side of. It was designed by the architect, Hacı
Ivaz Pasha who also designed the Green Mausoleum. The complex
consists of a mosque, türbe,
madrasah
, kitchen
and bath. The interior of the mosque is decorated with a mosaic
of blue-green tiles on the walls and ceiling of the eyvans, from
which it gets its name. The exteriors with its domes,
now clad with lead,
were once also adorned with blue-green tiles in cuerda
seca style. There are also traces of gold embedded in the
deep blue hexagonal wainscot tiles
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| Yesil Camii mimbar |
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| Mosaic tiles of Yesil Camii |
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| Mosaic tiles |
Opposite to the Green Mosque was the
Yesil Turbe or Green Mausoleum. From wikipedia: It is a mausoleum of
the fifth Ottoman
Sultan, Mehmed I,
It is built on a hexagonal plan and crowned with a hemi-spherical
dome.
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| Yesil Turbe tomb |
Before bidding farewell to Bursa, we
stopped by at the Silk Bazaar or Yesil Carsi (it wasn't really a
market, but a souvenir shop targetting for unsuspecting tourists).
For cheaper souvenirs, it was better to buy from the shops nearby.
You will see the shopkeepers calling out for you trying to sell their
kilims and fridge magnets. It was too late for me, I had already
bought a fridge magnet from the bazaar.
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| interior of Yesil Carsi |
We would be having Ramiz meatball lunch
on the way to Pamukkale, at city called Akhisar. From wikipedia:
Akhisar was mentioned in the bible and hosted one of the Seven
Churches of Revelation (Thyateira, Thyatira). It was a busy trade
center due to its strategic location at the intersection of important
roads during ancient, medieval and the Ottoman empire reign. It is
now famous for its locally produced olive oil. Saffron and grape are
also planted here. Some info on the biblical Akhisar can be found
here
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| olive trees along the way |
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| scenic view |
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| sheep farm |
As for the special Ramiz meatball, it
was founded by the orphaned Kofteci Ramiz, who was originally from
Macedonia. According to its website, the meatball was made out of
pure calf meat, only with salt and onions. The eater tasted only meat
on a type of wholemeal pitta roasted in butter then cut. They created
an unforgettable taste when served along with grilled pepperoni and
in-butter heated tomatoes. To read more, go
here
I could attest to the meatball only
made of meat – no internal organs, bones or fat. It tasted really
juicy. Although it is called as a meatball, the shape is not of a
ball, but rather, a flat piece of meat mix. I had a grouse though –
I felt it was too salty for me.
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| salad with olive oil dressing, really healthy! |
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| yummy butter rice |
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| Ramiz flat meatball |
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| Ramiz restaurant |
We stopped for our solat at the Hilal
Camii at Akhisar, not far from Ramiz Park. Ah, I must mention that
mosques in Turkiye have a separate section for ablution from the
prayer hall, where you have to wear your shoes to the ablution place,
then wear back your shoes to go the prayer hall. Compared to mosques
in Malaysia, you only leave your shoes at one point before entering
the mosque i.e. you don't have to wear it back from the ablution
place to the prayer hall. Anyway, I am not complaining as the mosques
of Turkiye are simply beautiful, especially the chandeliers. Plus, I
came equipped with my trusty selipar Jepun. One thing I hope is that
Turkey mosques could supply hot water for ablution. Since it's winter
now, it was freezing cold!
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| Hilal Camii. Ablution place is via the right entrance, prayer hall on the left. |
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| Hilal Camii ablution place |
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| Prayer hall |
We continued our journey to Pammukkale
for another 3.5 hours to arrive at 6pm, not before stopping by at
Varol textile factory, famous for cotton products- towels that could
last til 10 years – according to Burak. Total journey from Bursa
was 8 hours. It was already dark when we arrived at the 5 star Lycus
River hotel. Dinner was served buffet style, we had to queue with
hoardes of tourists from possibly Singapore (oriental look) and
Westerners (probably German from the accent).
The hotel was beautiful with a chic
fireplace and a huge swimming pool (luckily it was winter as I didn't
bring my swimsuit – next time I must bring it wherever I go). But
it also had a thermal pool- so I wasn't able to enjoy this. The hotel
did have complimentary face mask (nothing to shout about – just a
face scrub being applied and left on for for about 20 mins, and that
was it). We did enquire about the Turkish bath complimentary entrance
as advertised by our travel agent – Poto travel – but it wasn't
free actually. Turkish bath with scrub and massage costs USD50 for 30
minutes. We declined and just went for bed therapy instead.
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| Lycus River hotel |
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| chic fireplace |
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| Lycus room |
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| Indoor thermal pool |
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| Outdoor pool |
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| Dinner buffet style. This is fish with cous cous and meatball |
Labels: Travelogue
