Searching for silk? Then wander through Bursa's bazaar district near the near the Great Mosque (Ulu Cami) and you'll be overwhelmed with silky decisions!

From ties to scarves to dresses - you'll find high quality silk and locals shopping for bargains. Silk was Bursa's prime cloth trade for centuries, and although much of the silk now on sale comes from elsewhere, the variety and selection are still impressive.

Most of the silk shops are set inside old 13th century building called hans (caravansaray). Hans connected the trade routes across the Turkey. Merchants would arrive at them with their animals and merchandise in tow and would be able to stable the animals, store the merchandise and find a bed for the night all in the one handy location. The rooms of the hans usually opened off a central courtyard with the animals sleeping downstairs and their owners upstairs.

Bursa is home to many lovely hans where the courtyards have been turned into tea gardens. So go ahead and shop till you drop in the silk shops and then rest your feet at a tea shop and enjoy your historical surroundings.