Thursday 30^th June – Mudanya – Zeytinbaği (Bursa)

40:23.580N 28:48.026E

This morning Richard had a walk around the harbour and returned with a small fish for my dinner, before venturing off further afield into Mudanya.  Many of the small fishing boats go and sit at anchor just outside the harbour to catch fish.  In the corner of the harbour is a small fish stall selling their catch.

We decided to try our chances at Zeytinbaği again and so we left the yacht harbour around noon and were at Zeytinbaği a short while later.  The moorings were still almost full, we saw one small buoy free where a small yacht had just left but the space looked too small for us.  Fortunately someone beckoned us to a spot on the far wall where a lazy line had become free and took our lines.  We tied up and then whilst we were having some lunch, the harbour master arrived, bringing with him a pamphlet describing the town in Turkish and English.

This afternoon we went for walk around the village which was worth the visit in its own right.  However, on the spur of the moment we decided on a dolmus trip to Bursa – Bursa had been mentioned to us as a place to visit from here with some fine mosques and markets to explore.  The minibus was rather nice and air-conditioned, quite a luxury as the day had become hot and sunny. 

Being an impromptu trip, we had set off without doing our homework first.  We had naively thought the dolmus would take us to the centre of Bursa, we would have a wander around, and then we would catch the dolmus back.  As it turns out, Bursa is a very busy major city, the original centre of the Ottoman empire; surrounded by mountains it is situated below Uludağ, Turkey’s largest winter sport centre.

Our mystery bus tour first took us back to Mundanya; the narrow road winding along the coast with the hills lined by olive trees and with great views out across the gulf, before taking us through the centre of Mudanya itself.  We then headed inland on a major road – we were on the bus for about an hour in total. 

The road split and down the centre was a new light railway.  At the next stop, the driver realised we were still on board and indicated for us to get off.  We were a bit confused as we weren’t in the town centre.  It eventually dawned on us that he was telling us that we needed to take the train into the centre from there.  Although the folks we had spoken to had said to catch a dolmus from Zeytinbaği to Bursa, there hadn’t been any mention of a train.

We headed to the ticket office but then had no idea which stop we needed for the centre.  As ever we were rescued by the friendliness of this nation; behind us in the queue was a girl who spoke good English and took us under her wing.  She is studying languages at university and was going to the centre with her parents to buy a wedding present for some relatives in the Grand Bazaar.  We tucked in behind them and she escorted us off the train at the centre of Bursa and up to the Grand Bazaar, gave us a quick history on the way, told what else we should visit and then went off with her parents.

We hadn’t realised how long the journey would be and so it was by now 5pm.  However, we had been given a great headstart by our guide.  The bazaar (bedesten) is worth a visit; it is divided into different areas so there was an area for jewellery, another for shoes, another for furniture, another for wedding gowns, etc., etc.  We looked around the impressive Ulu Cami (Grand Mosque); this was built in 1399 and has 20 domes.  I particularly liked the Koza Han (silk cocoon market); there is a leafy central courtyard with cafés and around the ground and first floor are many small stores selling silk cloth and clothing.  We had an ice cream and walked back down through the busy fruit and vegetable market to the train station.  Now experts in the train system, we caught a train back out to the dolmus stop and just managed to catch the 7pm dolmus back to Zeytinbaği.

It was a very good afternoon out and we can definitely recommend it.

Zeytinbaği

Bursa

© Pyxis 2011