About Bursa city

The Turkish city of Bursa, or “Green Bursa,” is the first capital of the Ottomans, Anatolia’s gateway to the West, and a prominent center in industry and trade, also the city is known as the “city of museums” with its historical identity, architectural structure, and picturesque nature which is attracts tourists from all over the world.

Bursa was previously called "Prusa" throughout the Roman period after Prusias (one of the kings of Bithynia) who founded it. Then its name was changed to Prusa ad Olympos to distinguish it from other cities that were called "Prusa".

The name "Olympus" was also added to Bursa due to the proximity of the city's location to Mount Olympus, which was called "Uludag Mountain" in Turkish since 1925. The name of the city returned to "Prusa" at the beginning of the Byzantine era.

Bursa is located between longitudes 40 degrees and 28-30 degrees northwest of Turkey. It is bordered by the Sea of Marmara to the northeast, and the city of Istanbul to the south, also the city is 155 meters above sea level.

This city expanded significantly during its modern history until it became a governorate that includes 17 districts, 230 towns, and 659 villages.

The total area of Bursa is about 11 thousand square kilometers, and the Sea of Marmara forms a coastline in the northeastern region of the city with a length of 135 kilometers.

Mountains cover about 35% of the province's territory, forming chains extending towards the east and west, the most famous of which is "Uludag", which is the highest mountain in the Marmara region and is 2,543 meters tall.

The plains cover 17% of the total area of Bursa, while the rest of the area varies between plateaus, low mountains, rivers, lakes, and ponds.

Bursa is characterized by a generally moderate climate, but it varies according to the region. In the north, it is moderate and warm near the Sea of Marmara, and the higher you rise towards Mount Uludag, the colder it becomes.

Population

The Bithynia people of Thracian origin are considered the oldest people who inhabited Bursa, due to its location at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, and the influence of the Greek colonies played a role in the settlement of various peoples in the region, until the people of Bithynia gradually became Greek.

During the period of Byzantine rule, many Serbs and Bulgarians settled in the city of Bursa and its surroundings, and when the Ottomans came, the majority of the population were Christians and spoke Greek, and most of them were from different ethnic groups.

The Orthodox Greeks formed the majority population in Bursa at the beginning of the Islamic conquest, but the ethnic structure of the region changed over time, and the number of Turks began to increase and Islam spread, so the population structure changed and included Muslims, Christians, and Jews.

In the 17th century, the number of Greek neighborhoods was 9, the Armenian neighborhoods were 7, the Jewish neighborhoods were 6, and the Coptic neighborhood was one.

Population Change

Bursa was a settlement area that often received immigrants and its population constantly changed due to waves of immigration. During the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Bursa was one of the most important areas in which immigrants settled, especially from the Caucasus and the Balkans.

Bursa maintained its position as a center of immigration during and after the War of Independence. According to the “Turkish-Greek Population Exchange Agreement” signed in Lausanne on January 30, 1923, the agreement stipulated forced exchange on the basis of religion, not race, which contributed to the continuation of immigration.

After the agreement, Turkish citizens of the Greek Orthodox sect migrated to Greece, and Greek Muslim citizens settled in Turkey, and Albanians and Pomaks came with them despite not being included in the text of the exchange, and immigration to Bursa continued in large numbers, the majority of which consisted of Bulgarian Turks.

The population increased in 2021 with the development of industry and foreign trade until it reached approximately 3 million, making Bursa the fourth largest city in Turkey in terms of population. The rapid population growth affected the demographic composition and Bursa became a place where many different cultures, origins, races and religions meet.

Historical Monuments

Bursa, which is called in Turkish and Ottoman literature, and by academics and historians, as the "cradle of the empire", its landmarks still bear witness to this, as the squares and historical residences with tiled roofs, historical cultural and urban landmarks, and archaeological buildings of great architectural value, such as mosques, shrines, and tombs of the Ottoman sultans. And their families have international and local fame because of the historical, archaeological and cultural treasures they contain.

6 landmarks in Bursa have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, which are the Hanlar region, Hudavindigar complex, Yildirim complex, Green complex, Muradiye complex, and Cumali Kizik village, which includes the Orhan Gazi complex and its surroundings.

Bursa is known as the "City of Museums" due to its historical identity, architectural structure, and the artifacts it contains, which, along with its ancient history that extends for thousands of years, form a museum open to visitors.