Day 43, July 219, 2011 (Trip to Iznik)

Vid 346 (not the Marmara)

Trip to IZNIK writing about the day at the end of the pictures


Clock tower in central Bursa

Walking from Uludag base through the street




Otobus station



Mini bus Iznik

Aaron in the bus

Nuclear power plant

Church then mosque in Iznik

Vendors

Attaturk in a post card

Artists working on plate design

Turkish Olive Oil Wrestling (Grease Wrestling) Yagli Gures

Back to Bursa after a great day

We started out going to Uludag Mountain, taking a bus into the city center of Bursa and then a taxi to the base of the mountain to where the cable car is. But there was a very long line, last time we waited for 2 hours and this line looked longer. It was also getting very hot. Our time is running out here so we wanted to take advantage of the time and do something different. We decided to go to the city of Iznik which some shopkeepers the previous day suggested we go to see. So without exactly knowing where to go we walked from the base of the mountain to the city center (20 minute walk). We saw our taxi driver twice and as is typical in Turkey, when you do not know where you are going someone out of the blue helps you. We took a very long bus ride (38 yellow bus) to the Otogar (centeral bus terminal). Then we took a mini bus to Iznik. The Otobus terminal is like an airport. The bus system is inexpensive to travel by, great views and very accessible. Well we arrived in Iznik and heard that there was a festival going on. Which means for many of the those on the trip more stuff to buy. They had 100's of kiosks lined up on this one street, these were probably surrounding businesses. The jewlery, ceramics and rings etc. where quite impressive. I kept it simple and bought tiles that have 36 on them for my house. Iznik is a historical city (like all places in Turkey). It is an important city with respect to Christian history and Islamic history.

The lake, it is about 65 km long, so it is large. There are olive groves all over up to the lake up the sides of mountains. The city has interesting stores and colorful buildings. A large church turned into a mosque and now a museum is present. This is the Hagia Sophia. This church is the place where there some important ecumenical councils. The city was surrounded by 5 km of walls (3 mi) 10 m (33 feet) high with over 100 towers. The walls are still there although parts were taken down to allow for modern day streets to pass. I think the photos will give you a good idea of this place.