Tuesday, October 18, 2011

 

Kusadasi to Bursa

The sun was shining brightly, the Aegean was blue, and this morning’s contingent of cruise ships was at the dock as we left Kusadasi this morning.  As we were putting our luggage in the trunk, we discovered that the small stationary window on the rear passenger side had been smashed.  Evidently, someone had tried to break in (through a tiny triangular window?!?), but the glass didn’t actually break. Should make for an interesting conversation when we return the car tomorrow…

We travelled northeast today, and the sunny skies of the coast gradually darkened and we had rain en route to Bursa, our destination this afternoon. Once again, we were struck by the “thematic” roadside produce stands. 

Today, it was squash of many varieties and in great profusion – one vendor’s overflowing stand after another, for miles.  As we neared Bursa, the squash shared pride of place with candied chestnuts, a regional specialty.  The array and abundance of agricultural products we’ve encountered during our time on the road have been amazing.  On one supermarket foray, we stood staring at cauliflower the size of basketballs and heads of cabbage like beach balls.

 Bursa is a large city, with a long history as a business and financial center; it’s said to be the home of the world’s first stock exchange and the origin of the term bourse. There is little here to draw tourists, so as we explored the downtown area this afternoon, we had a sense that we were seeing another side of Turkey.   

 

We visited a mosque and a maze of covered markets and no one tried to sell us a thing! 

Several markets seemed to run into each other and into old hans, like the two-story caravanserai we saw in Anatolia. 

We wandered around the Koza Han, whose center courtyard held a small mosque surrounded by shade trees and outdoor cafes.  The second story was comprised of a succession of shops featuring all manner of items fashioned from Bursa silk.  The scarves, pillows, ties, and clothing were just exquisite and wonderful examples of the silk this area is noted for.  We’ve read that there is a thriving cottage industry in raising silkworms, with about 14,000 people buying silkworms each April, feeding them mulberry leaves at home, and then returning to the Koza Han to sell the silk after the worms have spun their cocoons.

Though the rain had stopped by the time we were out walking, it was windy and chilly, with the temperature only reaching the mid-40’s this afternoon.  All that Turkish tea drinking is starting to make sense!

Tonight’s dinner was the local specialty – Iskender kebap – delicious!