Yesterday we visited the city of Nicaea/Iznik, famous for its tiles which are awesome! We visited a place where they still make them by hand. The workshop was interesting. There were women dressed very traditional with ear buds listening to music and then there were some dressed very hip. It ran the gamut which is pretty much the way it is everywhere, traditional vs. modern. We also visited a very old church, now a mosque where they think the Council of Nicaea was held in 325 A.D., The Nicene Creed came out of this. The old walls were really old, think Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, today!

Then on to Bursa, a big city, which rises up from a plain to mountains. The town started on the mountainside and was the early capital of the Ottoman Empire. Now urban sprawl has taken over and it is spreading out to the plains, up the mountains, and pretty much all over. It is famous for its sulphur springs, great for bathing, and there is a ski mountain nearby. From the plain we could see a mountain with snow left on the ski runs. Bursa is also famous for its silk and we spent some time in the silk market, next to the mosque.

We have been touring in a huge Mercedes bus. The bus driver is very talented and able to maneuver steep hillsides (very scary for me), hair turns on crowded streets, and narrow cobbled roads with mere inches to spare on each side. I confess there are many times when I just can’t look and decide to “rest” my eyes for awhile. In Bursa, some of the stop light poles light up green for green lights, yellow, red, very cool. There are also lush parks and awesome views.

Today we visited a couple of Mosques. Before entering, shoes must be taken off and heads covered. If we were Muslims we would also be required to wash our hands, ears, and feet, three times at the fountain. The tiles and ornamentation was amazing. Mosques were built by Sultans as representations of their power. They were also like a community center and contained hospitals, soup kitchens, bathes, and markets within the same complex. The Iznik tiles and other decorations in these mosques is amazing!

Puppet shows are a favorite form of entertainment during Ramadan and we visited the puppet museum and saw a performance.

The final pictures are of the tomb of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Osman I.