29/09/2008

Fresh from the oven


Hard at work baking bread in time for iftar.

This will be my last post for a few days as for the rest of this week we are celebrating Eid.

28/09/2008

New motorway


This was taken on the new motorway that runs around the top of Bursa. At the moment it doesn't go anywhere else, but they are working to extend it and hopefully at some point it will connect with Istanbul and Izmir. It would certainly shorten the journey times to have a good road.

You can probably tell from the photo, we are having a lot of rain at the moment!

27/09/2008

Popcorn


I had never seen a popcorn machine like this before, although I'm sure they are common in other places. The metal pan is making the popcorn and when it is ready the lids at the top open and the popcorn jumps out.

25/09/2008

Dolmus


The dolmus is a very convenient way of getting around. It is a type of shared taxi which runs on a set route (the sign on top of the car says what route it does). You pay a set fare generally, but you can get in and out wherever you want by asking the driver. The fares are comparable with the bus and they are very frequent so it works very well.

24/09/2008

Bursa plain


This photo was taken looking across the plain from Çekirge. A lot of new development is taking place in the far distance of this photo, but there is still some green left in the middle for now at least.

23/09/2008

Evening Sun


A very normal street, but I liked the way the evening sun is shining through the tree.

22/09/2008

Kaplama


Kaplama means 'covering' and this cart offers plastic covering of documents, for instance a driving license.

21/09/2008

Flag


A modern take on the ubiquitous Turkish flag - it is made out of some shiny shimmering material and was quite impressive reflecting the evening sun.

20/09/2008

Queueing for Pide


During Ramadan the bakeries don't sell much during the day, but around 6pm they start to sell Ramadan Pide. Here people are queueing to get theirs fresh from the oven ready for the end of the fast.

18/09/2008

Autumn Sky


Today for the first time the weather is starting to feel autumnal. The temperature has dropped around 10 degrees (C) in the last 3 days. As you can see from these clouds, there is rain as well.

17/09/2008

Illusion


This is not what it looks like... the door and windows of this little cottage are just painted. I think it is a gas distribution station or something like that. Anyway, it's a very nice way to disguise what would otherwise be an ugly concrete box.

15/09/2008

Just Married


This photo is from earlier in the summer when the wedding season was in full swing. In the evening we could hear music from the celebrations almost every weekend. Now during Ramadan there are no weddings.

For platespotters, the 16 at the beginning of the number plate means the car comes from Bursa!

14/09/2008

Dinner by moonlight


Another view of the pier at Mudanya. This time the weather was better and we managed to sit outside. It's a bit dark but hopefully something can be seen...

12/09/2008

Vantage Point


Up above everything, this lady was peeping out to see what was going on below (you might have to enlarge the picture to find her)

11/09/2008

Clock Tower


This clock tower is in the middle of the Heykel square in the centre of Bursa. The road is one of the busiest parts of the centre, and this was a rare moment when I could catch the clock tower with no cars in front!

10/09/2008

Corner of Ulu Cami


I haven't managed to get a good shot of the Ulu Cami (Great Mosque) yet because it's just too big, so this glimpse will have to do for now. It is right in the centre of town and is an unmissable landmark.

09/09/2008

Fresh figs


Now is the fig season... I was walking home after a meeting today and saw this stall, very tempting. It was a while since I had been out in the middle of the day and although the weather has cooled down a bit lately, it was still hot for walking.

08/09/2008

Rally Driver


Maybe there was some kind of rally event yesterday, we went to a local shopping centre and there were a lot of cars and trucks for transporting them. This one had been testing its turns in the car park.

07/09/2008

Fun and Games


During Ramadan people often meet to eat the iftar (sunset) meal together. This year it is around 7.30pm in Bursa. Afterwards they gather in tea gardens to drink tea, chat and play games like this one. The tea garden was full and very lively, some people apparently would stay there until the early hours before going home to eat breakfast before the morning prayer call.

06/09/2008

Things ain't what they used to be...


This picture is displayed next to the mosque in Çekirge and shows what the area used to look like when it was still a village, before it was swallowed by Bursa. We'll try to post a view of what it looks like nowadays for comparison - needless to say much of the green you can see here doesn't exist any more.

04/09/2008

Turkish flag


I think today was a kind of holiday here (I don't know what for though). The centre of town was very busy and this man was selling Turkish flags. I saw some dolmus (shared taxi) which were also flying the Turkish flag.

03/09/2008

Which colour will you choose?


So many colours and styles, how can you possibly choose one?

02/09/2008

Ramadan Pide


Yesterday was the first day of Ramadan (Ramazan in Turkish). During Ramadan the shops sell this special kind of bread which is called Ramazan pide. It is very good, and only sold at this time.

01/09/2008

Ülkü cake shop


This is an old and famous cake shop in the centre of Bursa. We bought some profiteroles and they were delicious!