Experience the best of Bursa

Bursa spreads across the lower slopes of Uludağ in north-western Turkey, and in the early fourteenth century it became the first great capital of the Ottoman state. The Ulu Cami, a vast mosque roofed with twenty domes, anchors the old centre. To the east, the Yeşil Cami and the Yeşil Türbe are lined with blue and green tiles, and the Koza Han, a silk traders' inn, surrounds a courtyard where cocoons were once sold.

Cumalıkızık, a village of timber-framed Ottoman houses on the plain below the mountain, is listed by UNESCO together with the city's early Ottoman monuments. A cable car climbs Uludağ, a national park of pine forest that turns to ski slopes in winter. The hot springs of the Çekirge district have fed bathhouses for centuries, and Lake İznik, the ancient Nicaea, lies a drive to the east.

İskender kebab, thin slices of döner lamb laid on bread and covered with tomato sauce, yoghurt and sizzling butter, was invented in Bursa and is still served in its home city. Candied chestnuts and silk scarves are sold in the covered bazaars, and the plain around the city is known for its peaches. Snow often lies on Uludağ from late autumn into spring, while the plain below is warm in summer.