Small-Group Tour: Bursa Day Trip from Istanbul

Visit the birthplace of modern Turkish culture and the first capital of the Ottoman State on a day trip from Istanbul to the city of Bursa. Visit the Green Mosque (Yesil Camii) and the neighboring Green Mausoleum (Yesil Turbe), both world renowned for their superb tile decoration, and head to the 14th-century Great Mosque (Ulu Cami), where local Muslims worship. Enjoy lunch at an elegant restaurant and then explore Koza Han, a vast market that was the center of silk trade for many centuries.

After pickup from your Istanbul hotel, enjoy a scenic ferry ride to Yalova before hopping on your coach to continue by road to Bursa.

With your guide, visit the early 15th-century Green Mosque (Yesil Cami) and the Green Tomb (Yesil Turbe), where Sultan Mehmet I was buried in 1421. Both these sites are celebrated for their pristine architecture and beautiful interior embellishment, and you'll certainly see why!

Continue to Bursa’s city center to visit the imperial Great Mosque (Ulu Cami). Be astounded by its 20 domes and 12 massive pillars built in the Seljuk style in 1399, and learn how this is a common place for Muslim worship.

At midday, relax at an elegant restaurant – where Sultan Murat II once dined – and enjoy a lunch of traditional kebabs and other local specialties. After lunch, explore Koza Han, a vast market where merchants from all over the world have met for centuries to trade silk cocoons.

Next, travel by cable car to Uludag (Mt Olympus), where you can admire panoramic views of Bursa and the fertile plains below. Continue by coach to Cumalikizik Village and pass beautifully preserved early Ottoman-era homes before heading back to Istanbul.

• Lunch
• Entrance fees
  
• Local guide
• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Transport by air-conditioned coach
• Ferry ride and cable car ride
  

• Food and drink, unless specified
• Gratuities (optional)