Facts about Bursa
Bursa is a city in northwestern Turkey. As far as population is concerned, it is Turkey's fourth largest city. As of 2007 census, Bursa had a population of 1,979,999. The city of Bursa is frequently cited as "Yesil Bursa" (meaning "Green Bursa") in a reference to the beautiful parks and gardens located across its urban tissue, as well as to the vast forests in rich variety that extend in its surrounding region. The city is frequently cited as "Yesil Bursa" (meaning "Green Bursa") in a reference to the beautiful parks and gardens located across its urban tissue, as well as to the vast forests in rich variety that extend in its surrounding region. The mausoleums of early Ottoman sultans are located in Bursa and the numerous edifices built throughout the Ottoman period constitute the city's main landmarks. Karagöz and Hacivat shadow play characters were historic personalities who lived and are buried in Bursa. Bursa is also home to some of the most famous Turkish dishes, especially candied chestnuts and Iskender kebap. Bursa is home to Uludag University. The earliest known site at this location was Cius, which Philip V of Macedonia granted to the Bithynian king Prusias I in 202 BC, for his help against Pergamum and Heraclea Pontica (modern Karadeniz Eregli). Prusias renamed the city after himself, as Prusa. Bursa was once the capital of the Ottoman Empire following its capture from the shrinking Byzantine Empire in 1326. Bursa sits on a geologic fault like most of Turkey. The city was partially leveled by strong earthquakes coupled with fires and was rebuilt after each time. The last devastating earthquake occurred in 1885. Bursa is the toe of Turkey's automobile industry. FIAT and Renault have for decades had important production units in Bursa. The textile and food industries are also quite strong in the city of Bursa, and Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, and other beverages brands, as well as fresh and canned food industries are present in the city's organized industrial zones. Traditionally, Bursa was famous for its fertile soil and agricultural activities, both of which are decreasing due to the heavy industrialization of the city. Uludag University is located in Bursa and is a prominent university in Turkey's Marmara Region. It was founded in 1975, first under the name Bursa Üniversity, then re-named Uludag Üniversity in 1982. In the 2005-06 academic year, Uludag University had a student body of 47,000. Ulu Camii is the major mosque of Bursa and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture. It was built by Ali Neccar in 1396-1399, at Sultan Bayezid I's command. The Ulu Camii mosque is large and rectangular, with twenty domes arranged in four rows of five supported by twelve columns. Supposedly twenty domes are built instead of twenty separate mosques that Sultan Bayezid I promised for winning the Battle of Nicopolis. |
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