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The Green Tomb, the Green Mosque and the Irgandı bridge

Turquoise tiles on a hill above the Gökdere, then a bridge with shops built on it — the prettiest corner of old Bursa.

Free-ish2–3 hourslate afternoon — the tiles catch the low light

Why do it?

Up the hill east of the Gökdere stream stands the Yeşil complex: the Green Mosque (1414–1419), built for Mehmed I with an interior of blue-green tilework that gives the whole quarter its name, and the Green Tomb opposite, a turquoise-tiled octagon that is Bursa's most photographed building. The old medrese beside them houses the Turkish and Islamic Arts museum. Walk back down toward Setbaşı and you cross the Gökdere on the Irgandı bridge — built in 1442 with shops on top of it, one of a handful of inhabited bridges left in the world, rebuilt to its old form in 2004 and now full of small craft workshops.

The Smileys Take

Come in the last two hours of daylight: the tiles on the tomb go from blue to green as the sun drops, and the mosque is quiet between afternoon and evening prayers. Give the tomb ten minutes inside, then let the streets pull you downhill — Setbaşı has the cafés and the view back up to Yeşil. Cross the Irgandı bridge slowly and talk to whoever is working in the shops; it's tiny and that's the charm. Our favorite Bursa ending to a first day.

Good to know

The mosque is a working one — visit outside prayer times, dress modestly, shoes off.
Tomb and mosque are free; the museum in the medrese is a modest ticket.
Setbaşı bridge and the cafés along the Gökdere are the natural place to stop afterwards.