Bursa
Bursa | |
|---|---|
City | |
Hüdavendigar Park along the Nilüfer River Bursa Uludağ Gondola Green Mosque Koza Han Irgandı Bridge Tram on Cumhuriyet Avenue | |
|
Emblem of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality | |
Bursa Location of Bursa within the Region of Marmara in Turkey Bursa Bursa (Marmara) | |
| Coordinates: 40°11′N 29°03′E / 40.183°N 29.050°E | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Region | Marmara |
| Province | Bursa |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mustafa Bozbey (CHP) |
| Area | |
• City | 10,422 km2 (4,024 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,290 km2 (500 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 17,806 km2 (6,875 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 100 m (300 ft) |
| Population (2023)[1] | |
• City | 2,083,698 |
| • Density | 200/km2 (520/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Bursalı (Turkish) |
| GDP | |
| • City | ₺ 609 billion US$ 37 billion (2022) |
| • Per capita | ₺ 192,098 US$ 11,591 (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Postal code | 16000 |
| Area code | (+90) 224 |
| Licence plate | 16 |
| Website | www.bursa.bel.tr |
| Official name | Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iv, vi |
| Designated | 2014 (38th session) |
| Reference no. | 1452 |
| Region | Europe |
Bursa (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈbuɾsa]) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region after Istanbul, Bursa is one of the centers of Turkey's automotive production, becoming an industrial center of the country.[3] As of 2023, the city was home to 2,083,698 inhabitants.[1] The city provides various places of interest.
Bursa became the capital of the Ottoman Empire (back then the Ottoman Beylik) from 1335 until the 1360s. A more recent nickname is Yeşil Bursa ("Green Bursa") referring to the parks and gardens located across the city, as well as to the vast, varied forests of the surrounding region.
Bursa has a rather orderly urban growth and borders a fertile plain. The mausoleums of the early Ottoman sultans are located in Bursa, and the city's main landmarks include numerous edifices built throughout the Ottoman period. Bursa also has thermal baths, old Ottoman mansions, palaces, and several museums. Mount Uludağ, known in classical antiquity as the Mysian Olympus or, alternatively, Bithynian Olympus, towers over the city and has a ski resort.
The shadow play characters Karagöz and Hacivat, according to some stories, are based on historic personalities who lived and died in Bursa in the 14th century.[4][5]
- ^ a b "Bursa City (Turkey): Districts - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
- ^ "TÜRKiYE STATiSTiK KURUMU". cip.tuik.gov.tr.
- ^ "The Automatic Industry in Turkey". eraiturkey.com. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ^ "Karagöz'ün Tarihçesi" [History of Karagöz]. www.karagöz.org.tr (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 22 October 2023.
- ^ Özek, Chengiz. "500 years of Karagöz". Journal of Studies on Theater of Animated Forms (Móin Móin): 237. Retrieved 22 August 2025 – via Academic.edu.
According to one of these, Hacivat was a stonemason and Karagöz a blacksmith during the reign of Sultan Osman in the early 14th century. While the pair was working on the construction of a mosque in Bursa they distracted the other workers with their witty repartee, so that the work fell behind schedule and the sultan ordered their execution.