Blogs from Bursa, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 3

Bursa So the next day we rush out in the morning to catch the ferry to Bursa. It is getting freezing cold here, and its supposed to be colder there. The ferry which people do not really know much about it seems is a very good option. 20 liras all the way to Guzelali and then you catch a bus to the metro station to go into Bursa. We were fixed up in a small little old house with a really nice old couple and very very antique plumbing. Thankfully the blankets are warm, the rooms are clean and the heating works. And it is reasonably cheap. Bursa is an old Ottoman city. The first Ottoman city in fact. A stylish town with an old heart, it hugs the slopes of the Ulugu mountains and is ... read more

Hey everybody, wow..i am so happy it was my first experience in travelling abroad ...i loved it. The country of Ataturk is amazing, i saw coloured buildings totally different from mine in Tunisia, most of people were so friendly with me.they found me funny, may be because i am foreigner. I arrived in istanbul, by plane at 13:00, 29th of october2006, then i stretched to otoger( a beautiful girl helped me in metro station ) to catch the Bus for Bursa,also i built a friendship with ticket officer in kamil koc company ( for transportation, ..i am satisfied with it ), he invited me for lunch....to this point i want to say that you must be aware in Istanbul,its a crowded city wih 15 millions population; Advice ,don't trust anybody...even a new friend can lie for ... read more

First time I went to Bursa - 2 hours and a half from my city - it was in October..somewhere in the middle of the first religious holiday. Together with 3 other Romanian girls we decided to travel and meet another Romanian..a boy, an old friend who was with AIESEC there. What I knew before about this city: lots of mosques, history and a mountain. That definitely draw my attention. In my short visit I could see the "Green Tomb" where is burried Osman Gazi ("Ottoman Empire" was named after him...he was the mighty force that created that), Ulu Camii (=mosque), Yeşil Camii (Green Mosque) and Yeşil Türbe (Green Tomb)..and Zafer Plaza (zafer=victory) center where I heard people meet. On top of one of Ulu mosque was a funny figure..I heard it's called "Karagöz" and ... read more

Bursa... It's changed somewhat since I went to school here back in '95: it's mostly gotten more crowded, but it's still teeming with charm. Six of my classmates got together on this past sunday to visit the school again; I invited myself to stay over, and I stayed in my old room with the new crowd for 3 days. It's hard to believe these guys are 9 years younger than me; I guess I'm getting old. The city has its back to a mountain so if you're willing to walk about 30 minutes uphill from the city center you find yourself in the middle of woods and streams. My kind of city. There's a big park (Kulturpark) which hosts many tea gardens which serve well-tended water pipes (my new-found favorite pastime). Everything is so central and ... read more

I think I've always had the romantic ideal of "leaving it all" and "seeing the world". At the beginning of 2004 my hitherto complicated life (work, family, girlfriend) suddenly got simplified and I found myself face to face with the first (and possibly last) chance to make the dream come true. After some haggling with my boss I obtained a year's unpaid leave of absence, which combined with roughly 2 months of accumulated vacation gives me 14 months to travel. In the weeks leading up to my departure I moved out of (and cleaned) my place, said my goodbyes to my family, notified my now-ex girlfriend, and worked my ass off to wrap up loose ends at work. My co-workers gave me a gift certificate for REI (a camping/travel gear store), I did my packing in ... read more