It seemed unlikely that that city would start standing out. What did we know about it? That it had been the first capital of the Ottomans, when they settled "for good" across the declining Queen of Cities. That the area was called Bithynia, which I sometimes confused with Palestine's Bethany, while at other times I (equally erroneously) believed it belongs to the Pontus. That it is historically related to the [Greek village of] Prousos, which I heard the locals pronounce Poursos, with the "oo" in front of the "r", as in the Turkish name of the city (Bursa). That, finally, tourist agencies added it even in short tours of Istanbul and the Prince's Islands, for those that wanted to add a bit more "oriental flavour".
Suddenly, last year I discovered that Turkey's fourth largest city, too, is about to compete with the Athens basin - Izmir had already reached the Greek capital's population level. Bursa is approaching 2 million. Besides our neighbours' overall rural exodus, Bursa has certainly also been "lifted up" by its industrial growth, including the automotive industry: we already knew Tofaş as a basketball team sponsor - it is the local Fiat plant, there is also a Renault factory there.
The town has a "tough" terrain, being built at the foot of the Great Mountain, Uludağ - another Olympus of ancient times - see an earlier article of mine (in Greek). Its central area, with the most important monuments (such as the Great Mosque and the Koza Han), is on a hillside. However, a metro line with two branches is already in operation (Salonika, do you read me?), as is a "retro" tramway similar to Istanbul's (a green one though, in the true Bursa colour, not red as in Beyoğlu). Moreover, road projects in the area are not negligible. An orbital motorway is already in operation, far beyond the inner by-pass arterial. More importantly: the link to the most populous Turkish city is being upgraded in an impressive fashion.
How? With what is perhaps the longest suspension bridge of our broad region (Balkans - Near East). Independently of any big sporting events or of God's will (regarding the Turkish leader's lifespan), prime minister Erdoğan would definitely like the Izmit Bay crossing project to go ahead. An almost pharaonic project, maybe a bit arrogant and audacious - a few kilometres to the west of the 1999 major earthquake's epicentre. Its practical usefulness is undoubted, as today's link between 10+ million-strong Istanbul and 2 million-strong Bursa is either via a long detour or via ferry. (There is the direct Istanbul-Mudanya line, a 2-hour trips similar to Rafina-Andros in Greece, or the Gebze-Yalova car ferry, resembling Rion-Antirion). Note the population sizes, nothing to do with the Economist's "nowhere much to nowhere at all" description, which had so enraged us at the time of the Olympic fever (2004).
But times have changed, banks are cautious about the Turkish boom, they fear it could be another "bubble". Therefore, the large-scale project - also including the full motorway between Istanbul (Gebze, to be precise) and Izmir - is having difficulty in obtaining the required funding. This year, they managed to rally 8 Turkish banks (not a single foreign one...) for the first phase, up to Bursa. Nobody knows what will happen with the second phase and whether beloved Izmir will ever be linked via motorway to the rest of the world. Maybe it doesn't even need to.
I must agree with the "moustached man" (Erdoğan): generally, nobody knows how the next day may dawn. Regarding the bridge, however, I believe there is no turning back. They will do it - and they'll make it strong, by means also of Japanese technology (and the know-how already existing from the two Bosphorus bridges, suspension structures both). Works have already advanced to such a degree that navigation is affected every now and then.
So maybe in a few years' time trips between Istanbul and Bursa will be easy to make within a single day. Unless the fans of Rafina Thyella (thanks to AEK [a historic football club relegated to the 3rd division] we will learn a lot of such teams now!) decide to take advantage of the bridge's existence in order to visit the land of their ancestors. No rush is recommended for such a trip, picturesque Zeytinbağı / Trilye is awaiting them several kilometres to the north, at a seaside location with quite a few Orthodox church ruins. (Triglia was the original and long-time name of refugee settlement Rafina.)
In order to manage everything, the visitor should definitely plan at least one overnight stay at the city of Karagöz and Hacivat (there even exists a relevant museum at Bursa). And, since they'll stay for the night, they might as well (like I did) try the delicacies of a great kebap house and finish their evening at the Arap Şükrü pedestrian street*, which refuted my fear that the city of the Great Mosque is so "devout" as to lack any trace of nightlife.
*more on that, some other time...
Suddenly, last year I discovered that Turkey's fourth largest city, too, is about to compete with the Athens basin - Izmir had already reached the Greek capital's population level. Bursa is approaching 2 million. Besides our neighbours' overall rural exodus, Bursa has certainly also been "lifted up" by its industrial growth, including the automotive industry: we already knew Tofaş as a basketball team sponsor - it is the local Fiat plant, there is also a Renault factory there.
The town has a "tough" terrain, being built at the foot of the Great Mountain, Uludağ - another Olympus of ancient times - see an earlier article of mine (in Greek). Its central area, with the most important monuments (such as the Great Mosque and the Koza Han), is on a hillside. However, a metro line with two branches is already in operation (Salonika, do you read me?), as is a "retro" tramway similar to Istanbul's (a green one though, in the true Bursa colour, not red as in Beyoğlu). Moreover, road projects in the area are not negligible. An orbital motorway is already in operation, far beyond the inner by-pass arterial. More importantly: the link to the most populous Turkish city is being upgraded in an impressive fashion.
How? With what is perhaps the longest suspension bridge of our broad region (Balkans - Near East). Independently of any big sporting events or of God's will (regarding the Turkish leader's lifespan), prime minister Erdoğan would definitely like the Izmit Bay crossing project to go ahead. An almost pharaonic project, maybe a bit arrogant and audacious - a few kilometres to the west of the 1999 major earthquake's epicentre. Its practical usefulness is undoubted, as today's link between 10+ million-strong Istanbul and 2 million-strong Bursa is either via a long detour or via ferry. (There is the direct Istanbul-Mudanya line, a 2-hour trips similar to Rafina-Andros in Greece, or the Gebze-Yalova car ferry, resembling Rion-Antirion). Note the population sizes, nothing to do with the Economist's "nowhere much to nowhere at all" description, which had so enraged us at the time of the Olympic fever (2004).
But times have changed, banks are cautious about the Turkish boom, they fear it could be another "bubble". Therefore, the large-scale project - also including the full motorway between Istanbul (Gebze, to be precise) and Izmir - is having difficulty in obtaining the required funding. This year, they managed to rally 8 Turkish banks (not a single foreign one...) for the first phase, up to Bursa. Nobody knows what will happen with the second phase and whether beloved Izmir will ever be linked via motorway to the rest of the world. Maybe it doesn't even need to.
I must agree with the "moustached man" (Erdoğan): generally, nobody knows how the next day may dawn. Regarding the bridge, however, I believe there is no turning back. They will do it - and they'll make it strong, by means also of Japanese technology (and the know-how already existing from the two Bosphorus bridges, suspension structures both). Works have already advanced to such a degree that navigation is affected every now and then.
So maybe in a few years' time trips between Istanbul and Bursa will be easy to make within a single day. Unless the fans of Rafina Thyella (thanks to AEK [a historic football club relegated to the 3rd division] we will learn a lot of such teams now!) decide to take advantage of the bridge's existence in order to visit the land of their ancestors. No rush is recommended for such a trip, picturesque Zeytinbağı / Trilye is awaiting them several kilometres to the north, at a seaside location with quite a few Orthodox church ruins. (Triglia was the original and long-time name of refugee settlement Rafina.)
In order to manage everything, the visitor should definitely plan at least one overnight stay at the city of Karagöz and Hacivat (there even exists a relevant museum at Bursa). And, since they'll stay for the night, they might as well (like I did) try the delicacies of a great kebap house and finish their evening at the Arap Şükrü pedestrian street*, which refuted my fear that the city of the Great Mosque is so "devout" as to lack any trace of nightlife.
*more on that, some other time...
