Ulu Cami (The Grand Mosque), Koza Han Silk Bazaar and the Historic Inns

At the heart of downtown Bursa lies the UNESCO-listed Hanlar Bölgesi, the commercial engine of the first Ottoman capital since the 1330s. Within a five-minute radius stand a monumental twenty-domed congregational mosque, more than a dozen two-storey stone merchant inns (hanlar) and kilometres of vaulted bazaar lanes.

1. Ulu Cami

Built by Sultan Bayezid I ("The Thunderbolt") using gold booty from his victory at the Battle of Nicopolis, Bursa Ulu Cami is the largest and most important early Ottoman multi-dome mosque in Turkey. Legend tells that Bayezid vowed to build twenty separate mosques if he won the battle; afterwards, his scholar-advisor Emir Sultan suggested building a single vast sanctuary roofed by twenty domes instead:

• The Indoor Şadırvan Fountain and Skylight Dome: unlike later imperial mosques in Istanbul that placed their ablution fountains in an outer courtyard, Ulu Cami places a sixteen-sided marble şadırvan fountain with a three-tiered bowl directly in the middle of the prayer hall, beneath an open oculus dome that lets natural light and rain filter down to the sound of trickling water.
• A Museum of Islamic Calligraphy (Hat Sanatı): between 1855 and the early 20th century, the greatest Ottoman master calligraphers covered the walls and twelve massive stone pillars with 192 colossal calligraphic compositions (including giant Vav letters and Divine Names), alongside a 1399 walnut-wood minbar (pulpit) carved with a geometric relief of the solar system and galaxies using interlocking kündekari joinery without nails.

2. Koza Han (The Silk Cocoon Inn, 1491) and Buying Genuine Bursa Silk

Walk out the eastern gate of Ulu Cami directly through the crown portal of Koza Han, commissioned in 1491 by Sultan Bayezid II to fund his mosque complex in Istanbul. For five hundred years, peasant farmers brought sacks of silkworm cocoons from the mulberry orchards around Bursa to be auctioned in this two-storey stone courtyard around a tiny octagonal raised stone mosque (mescit) standing on pillars over a fountain:

• How to enjoy Koza Han: sit under the plane trees in the lower courtyard for tea or Turkish coffee paired with a warm tahinli pide (sweet tahini bread roll), then climb the stone stairs to the upper arcaded gallery, where forty family-run boutiques sell silk scarves, shawls and ties. Tip for buyers: always ask whether a scarf is 100% pure Bursa mulberry silk (saf Bursa ipeği) or a cheaper viscose/polyester blend; honest Koza Han shopkeepers clearly separate the two racks and prices.
• Fidan Han, Pirinç Han and Uzun Çarşı: continue through Koza Han's eastern arch into 15th-century Fidan Han (built by Mahmud Pasha), 1508 Pirinç Han, the vaulted 14th-century jewellery hall of the Bedesten, and the lively Covered and Long Bazaars (Kapalı Çarşı & Uzun Çarşı).