Escape the Crowds
Gölyazı and the lake
An island village on Uluabat lake — a 750-year-old plane tree, storks on the roofs, and a boat out among the lilies.
Why do it?
West of the city on Uluabat lake, Gölyazı is an old Greek fishing village on what was an island, now joined to the shore — stone houses, a ruined church of St Panteleimon, nets drying on the quay, and storks nesting on every chimney from spring. At the entrance stands the Ağlayan Çınar, the 'weeping plane tree', around 750 years old, with a tea garden underneath and the lake beyond. Boats take you out onto the water among the reed beds and water lilies; the lake is a wetland of real importance for birds.
The Smileys Take
Sit under the plane tree first — tea, lake, nothing else — then walk the village lanes and out along the shore to the Zambaktepe viewpoint for the panorama. If it's calm, take a boat: the lake is the point, and half an hour out on it is the quietest place within reach of Bursa. Spring is the season, for the storks and the wildflowers; in winter the village is mostly closed up. A perfect slow Sunday for a small group.
Explore nearby
Do it with people
The Smileys community does things like this every week — organized events, spontaneous hangouts, and visitors looking for company.
Tips from Smileys
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There's always more Bursa.