Rediscover the architectural and social laboratory where every street was meticulously designed on the path from a border principality to a world power.
START DISCOVERYBursa is a massive architectural and social laboratory where the genetic codes of a world empire were written, with every street meticulously planned. The Ottomans carried out their most strategic experiments on the path to statehood in this city.
Known as the "Bursa Style," this plan designs the structure not just as a place of worship, but as a guesthouse (tabhane) and a social center. The foundation of the massive dome journey from Iznik to Istanbul was laid here.
Architectural Social LabThe power that rapidly grew the empire was the civil financing model. Education, health, and social aid services were made sustainable entirely through foundations (waqfs) and the Ahi brotherhood without burdening the state budget.
Civil FinancingCumalıkızık is a "foundation village." This village, whose income supported the Orhan Gazi Social Complex, is not a parasite of the urban center, but its lifeblood—a 700-year-old prototype of a supply chain.
Integrated EcosystemThe Milky Way Galaxy engraving on the pulpit (minbar) of the Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami) is a shocking discovery where the astronomical knowledge of that period met aesthetics. It is a massive sanctuary where art and science unite.
Astronomy & KundekariThe commercial center stretching from Koza Han to Emir Han is a global economic heart registered by UNESCO as a "living commercial heritage," where opening traditions (siftah) and bargaining customs still continue.
Living CommerceEven though the imperial capital moved, its soul remained in Bursa. The remains of Osman and Orhan Gazi rise above the Silver Cupola (Gümüşlü Kümbet), cementing the city's identity as the spiritual capital.
Dynastic Spirit"While building today's modern, concrete-oriented cities, what can we learn from this integrated social system that Bursa offered 700 years ago, which was civilly financed and in harmony with nature?"